Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Sold by Howland Capital Management LLC

Howland Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 92,822 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 586 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing comprises approximately 1.2% of Howland Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Howland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $27,315,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted 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 valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

ADP opened at $305.97 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $231.27 and a 52-week high of $311.67. The company has a 50 day moving average of $297.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $286.39. The company has a market cap of $124.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share 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%. On average, analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total transaction of $704,869.20. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $929,007.90. This represents a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders have sold 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241 in the last ninety days. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on ADP. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays lifted their target price 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $293.55.

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.