Qtron Investments LLC Sells 1,102 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Qtron Investments LLC reduced its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 20.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,375 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,102 shares during the period. Qtron Investments LLC's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,281,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth approximately $708,000. Bath Savings Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 99,299 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $29,068,000 after acquiring an additional 1,951 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 4.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 529,690 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $146,581,000 after acquiring an additional 22,766 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 8.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 667,068 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $194,117,000 after acquiring an additional 51,828 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 121.7% in the fourth quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 12,898 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,776,000 after acquiring an additional 7,080 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on ADP. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed 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. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group increased their target price 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $302.30.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 1.2 %

ADP stock traded down $3.50 on Tuesday, reaching $298.06. 1,762,327 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,674,878. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $302.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $297.93. The company has a market cap of $121.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.74. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $231.27 and a one year high of $322.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. Research analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. Automatic Data Processing's payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 473 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total value of $144,832.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,244 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,218,112.80. The trade was a 6.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total transaction of $704,869.20. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $929,007.90. The trade was a 43.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 4,775 shares of company stock valued at $1,447,893. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.