GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd Sells 572,259 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd lowered its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 39.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 887,464 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 572,259 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing accounts for about 4.2% of GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd owned 0.22% of Automatic Data Processing worth $259,787,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% in the third 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 period. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 121.8% in 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 during the period. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 473 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total transaction of $144,832.60. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,244 shares in the company, valued at $2,218,112.80. This represents a 6.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at $4,027,233.98. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 5,951 shares of company stock valued at $1,762,074. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays lifted 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.18.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

NASDAQ ADP opened at $295.32 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $303.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $295.36. The firm has a market cap of $120.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.27 and a twelve month high of $322.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, equities research analysts predict 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, April 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio 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.