Renaissance Technologies LLC Cuts Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Renaissance Technologies LLC lessened its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 24.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 473,000 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 149,700 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.12% of Automatic Data Processing worth $138,461,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total transaction of $458,070.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 12,073 shares in the company, valued at $3,686,852.74. This trade represents a 11.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 473 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total value of $144,832.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,218,112.80. This represents a 6.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,297 shares of company stock valued at $1,307,772. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on ADP. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group raised their price objective 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. Barclays upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $302.30.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP traded up $2.03 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $301.57. The company had a trading volume of 517,726 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,668,378. The stock has a market cap of $122.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.74. The company's 50 day moving average price is $302.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $297.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $231.27 and a 52-week high of $322.84.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.