Veritas Asset Management LLP Trims Stock Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Veritas Asset Management LLP cut its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 98.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 26,791 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,320,267 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing makes up approximately 0.1% of Veritas Asset Management LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Veritas Asset Management LLP’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $7,843,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% during the third 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. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.5 %

ADP opened at $312.20 on Tuesday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $314.06. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $299.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $290.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.55, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.79.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, research analysts expect 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ADP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho raised 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. Barclays raised their target price 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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 note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $293.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at $4,027,233.98. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total transaction of $704,869.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at $929,007.90. The trade was a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.