Howard Bailey Securities LLC Has $351,000 Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Howard Bailey Securities LLC reduced its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 18.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,200 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 267 shares during the period. Howard Bailey Securities LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $351,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 861 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 2.8% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 127,582 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,306,000 after purchasing an additional 3,456 shares in the last quarter. Keystone Wealth Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth about $213,000. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,485 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,902,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CFM Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. CFM Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,545 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $428,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

ADP stock opened at $306.65 on Thursday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $231.27 and a 1-year high of $311.67. 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 50-day moving average price of $297.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $287.71. The firm has a market cap of $124.95 billion, a PE ratio of 31.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

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 given a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is 64.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ADP. Barclays raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen raised their price target 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. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $293.55.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at $929,007.90. The trade was a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241 over the last three months. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by 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.