World Equity Group Inc. Trims Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

World Equity Group Inc. reduced its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,741 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 79 shares during the period. World Equity Group Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,095,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total value of $210,236.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,077,721.04. The trade was a 1.04 % decrease in their position. 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 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

ADP opened at $310.76 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $126.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $298.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $290.32. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $231.27 and a 1-year high of $313.72.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ADP shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus 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.