Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Lowers Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 166,653 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 19,400 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $48,784,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% in the 3rd 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 period. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP David Foskett sold 1,004 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.29, for a total transaction of $290,447.16. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,958 shares in the company, valued at $1,723,589.82. The trade was a 14.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares in the company, 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 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 3.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ ADP opened at $292.44 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $302.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $294.33. The company has a market capitalization of $119.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $231.27 and a 1 year high of $322.84.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (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 research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ADP shares. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed 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 increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.18.

Automatic Data Processing Company 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.