Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Sells 4,223 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD trimmed its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,389,400 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 4,223 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned 0.34% of Automatic Data Processing worth $406,720,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 121.8% during the fourth quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 122 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ADP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company 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 note on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $302.30.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total transaction of $458,070.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,686,852.74. The trade was a 11.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total transaction of $704,869.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at $929,007.90. This represents a 43.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,775 shares of company stock valued at $1,447,893. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of ADP stock traded down $2.79 on Friday, hitting $291.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,481,853 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,684,385. 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 has a market capitalization of $118.88 billion, a PE ratio of 30.42, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.74. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $322.84. The stock's 50 day moving average is $299.57 and its 200-day moving average is $298.52.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities research analysts expect 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing's payout ratio is presently 64.23%.

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.