Cynosure Group LLC Sells 373 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Cynosure Group LLC lessened its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 23.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,245 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 373 shares during the period. Cynosure Group LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $364,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth $708,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 280,961 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $77,750,000 after purchasing an additional 15,340 shares in the last quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 99,299 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,068,000 after buying an additional 1,951 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 4.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 529,690 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $146,581,000 after buying an additional 22,766 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 8.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 667,068 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $194,117,000 after buying an additional 51,828 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 473 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total value of $144,832.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 7,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,218,112.80. This represents a 6.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total value of $458,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,686,852.74. This trade represents a 11.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 7,089 shares of company stock valued at $2,113,777. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ ADP opened at $307.23 on Thursday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $231.27 and a 52 week high of $322.84. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $304.44 and its 200 day moving average is $296.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.04, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.74.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its earnings results 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 forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 64.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report 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 stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $302.30.

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.