Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Sold by Okabena Investment Services Inc.

Okabena Investment Services Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 27.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,796 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,254 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing makes up about 0.7% of Okabena Investment Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Okabena Investment Services Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $2,575,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 121.8% during the fourth quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 122 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 473 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total value of $144,832.60. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 7,244 shares in the company, valued at $2,218,112.80. The trade was a 6.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,951 shares of company stock valued at $1,762,074 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ADP. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $302.30.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $300.83 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $303.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $296.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $322.84. The company has a market cap of $122.58 billion, a PE ratio of 31.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. Analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend 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 (DPR) is presently 64.23%.

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.