AlphaQuest LLC Sells 3,379 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

AlphaQuest LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 91.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 332 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,379 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $97,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ADP. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at $342,942,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 41,710.7% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,090,422 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $319,199,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087,814 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter valued at $160,920,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 332.3% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 623,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $172,497,000 after acquiring an additional 479,145 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 3,120,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $910,972,000 after acquiring an additional 449,431 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ADP. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated 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. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two 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 stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.18.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $295.93 on Wednesday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $231.27 and a 52-week high of $322.84. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $302.66 and a 200 day moving average of $295.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.58 billion, a PE ratio of 30.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current 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 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 64.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total transaction of $210,236.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,077,721.04. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,951 shares of company stock worth $1,762,074 over the last three months. Company 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.