WealthShield Partners LLC Cuts Stock Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

WealthShield Partners LLC decreased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 12.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 858 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 118 shares during the period. WealthShield Partners LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $252,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased 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 buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,756,961. This represents a 14.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total value of $704,869.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $929,007.90. This represents a 43.14 % decrease in their position. 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 quarter. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.5 %

ADP stock opened at $312.20 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $299.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $290.89. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.27 and a twelve month high of $314.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market cap of $127.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.55, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. Research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $293.55.

Automatic Data Processing Company 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.