Bell Asset Management Ltd Sells 3,786 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Bell Asset Management Ltd decreased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 16.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,799 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,786 shares during the quarter. Bell Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $5,796,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ADP. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 121.8% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ADP shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a 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 given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $302.30.

Insider Activity

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total value of $704,869.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $929,007.90. This represents a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total transaction of $458,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 12,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,686,852.74. This trade represents a 11.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,364 shares of company stock valued at $1,613,094 in the last 90 days. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $286.13 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $304.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $297.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market cap of $116.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.74. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $231.27 and a 12-month high of $322.84.

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

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 64.23%.

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.