Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Sold by Jensen Investment Management Inc.

Jensen Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,660,416 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 94,699 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing accounts for approximately 4.4% of Jensen Investment Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Jensen Investment Management Inc. owned 0.41% of Automatic Data Processing worth $486,054,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $296.18.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total transaction of $210,236.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,856 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,077,721.04. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,951 shares of company stock worth $1,762,074 over the last three months. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP traded down $1.28 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $297.51. 1,602,359 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,455,600. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $302.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $295.07. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $231.27 and a 12 month high of $322.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.22 billion, a PE ratio of 31.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76.

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

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.23%.

Automatic Data Processing 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.