Legato Capital Management LLC Sells 3,226 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Legato Capital Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 37.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,294 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,226 shares during the quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,550,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ADP. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $306.65 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $297.26 and its 200 day moving average is $287.71. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $231.27 and a one year high of $311.67. The firm has a market cap of $124.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.79. 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) 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 net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. As a group, research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued 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 yield of 2.01%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. 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 report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $293.55.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,077,721.04. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.