Howard Bailey Securities LLC Sells 267 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Howard Bailey Securities LLC reduced its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 18.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor 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 reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total transaction of $305,322.05. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,756,961. The trade was a 14.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total transaction of $704,869.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $929,007.90. This trade represents a 43.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.3 %

ADP stock opened at $306.65 on Thursday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $231.27 and a 52 week 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 company has a market cap of $124.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $297.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $287.71.

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

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ADP shares. 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 note on Thursday, January 30th. 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 note on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen boosted 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, 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $293.55.

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.