Grant GrossMendelsohn LLC Lowers Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Grant GrossMendelsohn LLC cut its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 41.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,255 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 897 shares during the period. Grant GrossMendelsohn LLC's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $369,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at $209,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 280,961 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $77,750,000 after purchasing an additional 15,340 shares during the last quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at about $470,000. Dash Acquisitions Inc. grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. now owns 52,329 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $15,069,000 after buying an additional 2,781 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DRW Securities LLC purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $951,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

ADP stock traded down $0.05 during trading on Friday, reaching $296.18. 2,405,360 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,454,451. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $297.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $279.99. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $231.27 and a 52-week high of $309.63. The company has a market cap of $120.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.61, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.08 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is currently 65.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $289.91.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total transaction of $305,322.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,756,961. The trade was a 14.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 42,129 shares of company stock valued at $12,604,872 in the last 90 days. 0.21% of the stock is currently 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.