Guardian Investment Management Sells 600 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Guardian Investment Management reduced its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 21.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,200 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 600 shares during the quarter. Guardian Investment Management’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $644,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% in the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total transaction of $210,236.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,856 shares in the company, valued at $20,077,721.04. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 42,129 shares of company stock worth $12,604,872. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $296.18 on Monday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $231.27 and a 12 month high of $309.63. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $297.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $280.29. The firm has a market cap of $120.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

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

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Mizuho increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $289.91.

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.