Northeast Investment Management Sells 110 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Northeast Investment Management lowered its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 6,775 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 110 shares during the period. Northeast Investment Management’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,983,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 target price 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 company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of 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, Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $293.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total value of $305,322.05. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,961. This trade represents a 14.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $305.97 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $297.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $286.39. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $231.27 and a one year high of $311.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.67 billion, a PE ratio of 31.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

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

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.