Pegasus Asset Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Pegasus Asset Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 8,980 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 222 shares during the quarter. Pegasus Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $2,629,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ADP. DSM Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. DSM Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,952 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,157,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the period. Convergence Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at $201,000. Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth about $701,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at about $144,000. Finally, Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. now owns 8,485 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,484,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In related 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 directly owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total value of $704,869.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now 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 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 quarter. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 0.6 %

Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $309.89 on Wednesday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $231.27 and a one year high of $311.67. The stock has a market cap of $126.27 billion, a PE ratio of 32.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $297.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $289.42.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its 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 net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 64.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ADP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.