Horan Capital Advisors LLC. Sells 159 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Horan Capital Advisors LLC. trimmed its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,897 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 159 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing comprises about 1.4% of Horan Capital Advisors LLC.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Horan Capital Advisors LLC.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $4,068,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 9,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,822,000 after acquiring an additional 1,243 shares during the period. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth approximately $393,000. Alta Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,513,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,321,849 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $679,675,000 after acquiring an additional 69,042 shares during the period. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 74,558 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $21,825,000 after acquiring an additional 4,078 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

ADP stock opened at $318.64 on Tuesday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $231.27 and a one year high of $320.50. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $301.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $292.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $129.83 billion, a PE ratio of 33.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.79.

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

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders 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 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is presently 64.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ADP. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $293.55.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total transaction of $305,322.05. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,961. This represents a 14.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $704,869.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $929,007.90. This represents a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.