M&R Capital Management Inc. Trims Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

M&R Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 4.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,350 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. M&R Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $442,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Chandler Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Advisory Alpha LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Bainco International Investors purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Freedman Financial Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 1,005.0% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 221 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.65% of the company’s stock.

In related news, VP Deborah L. Dyson sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.93, for a total value of $102,558.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 24,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,236,670.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Stuart Sackman sold 576 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.00, for a total value of $106,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 23,221 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,295,885. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Several research firms have weighed in on ADP. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $197.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $150.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 28th. Citigroup upgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $180.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Friday, January 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered Automatic Data Processing from an “outperform” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $197.00 to $143.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Automatic Data Processing presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $168.53.

ADP stock opened at $188.32 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $80.59 billion, a PE ratio of 32.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.70. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $181.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $167.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $127.31 and a 1 year high of $193.76.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 26th. The business services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.23. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 46.13%. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.57 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.52 EPS. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 5.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is presently 62.84%.

About Automatic Data Processing

Automatic Data Processing, Inc provides cloud-based human capital management solutions worldwide. It operates through two segments, Employer Services and Professional Employer Organization (PEO). The Employer Services segment offers strategic, cloud-based platforms, and human resources (HR) outsourcing solutions.

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