Highland Capital Management LLC Decreases Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Highland Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,762 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $4,907,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% in the 3rd 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. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ADP has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Mizuho lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of ADP stock opened at $300.57 on Thursday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $231.27 and a 52-week high of $311.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $297.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $283.65.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was 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 directly owns 32,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,781,200. The trade was a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 42,129 shares of company stock valued at $12,604,872. 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.