Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. Trims Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. trimmed its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 9.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 743 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 79 shares during the period. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $218,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 1,054 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $482,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Aspiriant LLC grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 2,372 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $694,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,009 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,466,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, Petredis Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% in the third quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,485 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,902,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at $4,027,233.98. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total value of $210,236.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 68,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,077,721.04. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on ADP. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective 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. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $293.55.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 1.1 %

ADP stock opened at $308.15 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.56 billion, a PE ratio of 32.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a fifty day moving average of $297.15 and a 200-day moving average of $285.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $231.27 and a one year high of $311.67.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

About Automatic Data Processing

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.