Highland Capital Management LLC Sells 200 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Highland Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,762 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $4,907,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ADP. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ADP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group increased their price target 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. StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, 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 report on Monday, November 4th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.8 %

ADP stock opened at $300.57 on Thursday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $122.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.08, a PEG ratio of 3.45 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 $311.67. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $297.19 and a 200-day moving average of $283.65.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) 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 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share 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 paid a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total transaction of $210,236.39. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total value of $305,322.05. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 6,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,756,961. This trade represents a 14.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 42,129 shares of company stock worth $12,604,872 in the last quarter. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.