Certuity LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Certuity LLC lessened its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 68.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,389 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 9,633 shares during the quarter. Certuity LLC's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,285,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter worth $35,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of ADP stock traded down $2.07 on Friday, hitting $308.15. 1,100,945 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,756,367. The firm has a market cap of $125.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.13, a PEG ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $297.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $288.37. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $231.27 and a 52 week high of $311.67.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ADP. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $293.55.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Automatic Data Processing news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total transaction of $210,236.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,856 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,077,721.04. The trade was a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241 over the last ninety days. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Company Profile

Automatic Data Processing, Inc provides cloud-based human capital management solutions worldwide. It operates in two segments, Employer Services and Professional Employer Organization (PEO). The Employer Services segment offers strategic, cloud-based platforms, and human resources (HR) outsourcing solutions.