Sawyer & Company Inc Sells 412 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Sawyer & Company Inc trimmed its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 20,976 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 412 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing comprises 2.3% of Sawyer & Company Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Sawyer & Company Inc’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $6,140,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Websterrogers Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at about $327,000. Burney Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 25.8% during the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 11,605 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,397,000 after acquiring an additional 2,377 shares during the period. Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth approximately $561,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 35.5% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 11,822 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,461,000 after purchasing an additional 3,096 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 16,677 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,882,000 after purchasing an additional 1,231 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of ADP stock opened at $293.37 on Thursday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $231.27 and a 1-year high of $309.63. 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 $119.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.31, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $298.48 and a 200-day moving average of $279.35.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. The business had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.08 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $289.91.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $11,692,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,781,200. This represents a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 42,129 shares of company stock worth $12,604,872 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.