Heathbridge Capital Management Ltd. Decreases Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Heathbridge Capital Management Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 34,175 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 598 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing accounts for about 4.0% of Heathbridge Capital Management Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Heathbridge Capital Management Ltd.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $10,004,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% in 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. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $308.15 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $297.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $288.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market capitalization of $125.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.13, a PEG ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $231.27 and a 12-month high of $311.67.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. Sell-side analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS 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. Investors 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 yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on ADP. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $293.55.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total transaction of $305,322.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,961. This trade represents a 14.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total value of $704,869.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $929,007.90. This trade represents a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241 in the last three months. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company 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.