Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Sold by Certuity LLC

Certuity LLC lessened its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 68.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,389 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 9,633 shares during the period. Certuity LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,285,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ADP. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 22.9% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 4,618 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,278,000 after buying an additional 861 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 1,380 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $384,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. CX Institutional lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 16.8% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 23,021 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,371,000 after acquiring an additional 3,313 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 127,582 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,306,000 after acquiring an additional 3,456 shares during the period. Finally, GenWealth Group Inc. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter valued at about $201,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 0.4 %

ADP stock opened at $305.78 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.59 billion, a PE ratio of 31.89, a PEG ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.27 and a twelve month high of $311.67. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $297.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $287.34.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. On average, equities analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.23%.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total value of $704,869.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at $929,007.90. This represents a 43.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total value of $305,322.05. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,756,961. The trade was a 14.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241 over the last quarter. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $293.55.

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.