Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Sold by Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC.

Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. trimmed its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 581,106 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 14,619 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing comprises 2.1% of Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. owned approximately 0.14% of Automatic Data Processing worth $170,107,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Main Street Group LTD grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 50.7% during the fourth quarter. Main Street Group LTD now owns 113 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 121.8% during the 4th quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 122 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Banque de Luxembourg S.A. purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 478 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.14, for a total transaction of $140,120.92. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,364 shares in the company, valued at $2,158,682.96. This represents a 6.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total value of $458,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,073 shares in the company, valued at $3,686,852.74. This trade represents a 11.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,451 shares of company stock worth $743,024 over the last quarter. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

NASDAQ:ADP opened at $322.96 on Tuesday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $231.27 and a 12-month high of $328.00. The firm has a market cap of $131.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s 50-day moving average is $298.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $300.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $5.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.49 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. The company’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.88 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays increased 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 note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $303.55.

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.