Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC Sells 94 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 12.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 679 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 94 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $199,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ADP. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth $209,000. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth $708,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 280,961 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $77,750,000 after buying an additional 15,340 shares during the period. RIA Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth $470,000. Finally, Dash Acquisitions Inc. boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. now owns 52,329 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,069,000 after buying an additional 2,781 shares during the period. 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 Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $297.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $288.77. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $125.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.13, a P/E/G 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total transaction of $704,869.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $929,007.90. This represents a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241 in the last ninety days. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ADP. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $293.55.

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.