Brown Capital Management LLC Sells 100 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Brown Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 5,688 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Brown Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,266,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Signet Financial Management LLC lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 3,587 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $857,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. PFS Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. PFS Investments Inc. now owns 1,396 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $333,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.1% during the first quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,175 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $929,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 2,986 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $713,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stokes Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 4,595 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,098,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.37% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on ADP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $240.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $240.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $275.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Tuesday, September 5th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $267.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $249.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Automatic Data Processing news, CEO Maria Black sold 2,963 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.90, for a total value of $752,305.70. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 54,433 shares in the company, valued at $13,820,538.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Maria Black sold 2,963 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.90, for a total value of $752,305.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 54,433 shares in the company, valued at $13,820,538.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Don Mcguire sold 3,880 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.90, for a total transaction of $985,132.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,246,843.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 117,835 shares of company stock worth $29,763,730. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of ADP opened at $249.37 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $102.74 billion, a PE ratio of 30.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $201.46 and a fifty-two week high of $274.92. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $243.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $225.93.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 26th. The business services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $4.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.39 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 18.94% and a return on equity of 107.15%. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.50 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 8th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 7th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.98%.

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.