Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. Sells 40 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,001 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 40 shares during the quarter. Investment Partners Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $586,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Avestar Capital LLC boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 2,543 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $748,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. MGB Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. MGB Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,573 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,046,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 1,738 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $508,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 16,280 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,766,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,297 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $380,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 0.3 %

Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $306.65 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $297.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $287.85. The company has a market capitalization of $124.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $231.27 and a 52 week high of $311.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were 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 $4,027,233.98. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total transaction of $704,869.20. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $929,007.90. This represents a 43.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ADP. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $293.55.

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.