Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. Lowers Stock Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. cut its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,964 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 195 shares during the quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $3,210,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth $235,000. Monument Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 1,192 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $349,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 145.2% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 11,762 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,443,000 after purchasing an additional 6,966 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 12,286 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,596,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth $26,723,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ADP shares. TD Cowen raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $293.55.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total value of $210,236.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 68,856 shares in the company, valued at $20,077,721.04. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ ADP opened at $308.15 on Monday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $231.27 and a 12 month high of $311.67. The company has a 50-day moving average of $297.56 and a 200-day moving average of $288.58. 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 company has a market cap of $125.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 EPS 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is currently 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.