Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Sold by Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc.

Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. lessened its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,943 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 135 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing makes up 0.4% of Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $4,374,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth $26,000. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ADP opened at $290.20 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $298.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $278.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.24 billion, a PE ratio of 30.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $309.63.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. The company had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.08 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This is an increase from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ADP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Barclays upped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $289.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total transaction of $210,236.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 68,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,077,721.04. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 41,062 shares of company stock valued at $12,299,550. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by 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.