Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Sold by Heritage Investors Management Corp

Heritage Investors Management Corp lessened its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 74,875 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,542 shares during the period. Heritage Investors Management Corp’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $21,918,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ADP. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth about $55,000. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 5,933 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,737,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Sabal Trust CO boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Sabal Trust CO now owns 1,917 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $561,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 924,489 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $270,626,000 after acquiring an additional 168,972 shares during the period. Finally, Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 10,498 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,089,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ ADP opened at $311.21 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $126.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 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. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $231.27 and a 1 year high of $315.29. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $299.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $291.39.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,027,233.98. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at $929,007.90. This trade represents a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241 in the last 90 days. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ADP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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. Finally, Barclays increased their price target 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. Two investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $293.55.

Automatic Data Processing 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.