Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Sold by Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.

Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. trimmed its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 18,357 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 270 shares during the period. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $5,402,000 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. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of ADP stock opened at $297.51 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $302.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $295.08. The firm has a market cap of $121.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $231.27 and a 1-year high of $322.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

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

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at $929,007.90. The trade was a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 5,951 shares of company stock valued at $1,762,074. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ADP has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.18.

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.