Troy Asset Management Ltd Sells 58,834 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Troy Asset Management Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 24.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 177,007 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 58,834 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing makes up about 1.7% of Troy Asset Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Troy Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $51,815,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth approximately $455,993,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth approximately $342,942,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 41,710.7% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,090,422 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $319,199,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087,814 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth $160,920,000. Finally, Amundi increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 3,120,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $910,972,000 after acquiring an additional 449,431 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 473 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total value of $144,832.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,218,112.80. This trade represents a 6.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,951 shares of company stock valued at $1,762,074 over the last 90 days. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 1.5 %

ADP opened at $300.83 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $303.87 and its 200-day moving average is $296.20. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $231.27 and a 52-week high of $322.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ADP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upped 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 note on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $302.30.

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.