Avitas Wealth Management LLC Trims Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Avitas Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 55 shares during the quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $2,605,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 18,559 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,433,000 after acquiring an additional 2,040 shares during the period. Newton One Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 34.7% during the fourth quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 4,106 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,202,000 after purchasing an additional 1,057 shares during the period. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 24.3% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 1,390 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $407,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. Finally, Rockline Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Rockline Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,905,000 after purchasing an additional 637 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ADP opened at $304.67 on Wednesday. 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 $124.14 billion, a PE ratio of 31.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $311.67. The company has a fifty day moving average of $297.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $285.26.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ADP shares. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. 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 report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $293.55.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total value of $210,236.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,077,721.04. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the company’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 value 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 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.

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.