Wendell David Associates Inc. Sells 3,345 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Wendell David Associates Inc. reduced its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 185,653 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,345 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing makes up approximately 5.4% of Wendell David Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Wendell David Associates Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $54,346,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $11,692,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,781,200. The trade was a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 42,129 shares of company stock worth $12,604,872. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on ADP shares. Citigroup upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of ADP stock opened at $296.36 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $297.49 and a 200-day moving average of $281.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market cap of $120.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.63, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $231.27 and a 1-year high of $309.63.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. The firm had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.08 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 65.74%.

Automatic Data Processing 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.