Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Stock Holdings Lowered by Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC

Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 28,141 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 276 shares during the quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $8,238,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ADP. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 3.4% in the third quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 1,054 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $292,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $482,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Aspiriant LLC raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 2,372 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $694,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,009 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,466,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Petredis Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% in the third quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,485 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,902,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed 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, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $293.55.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total value of $305,322.05. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,756,961. The trade was a 14.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the transaction, the vice president now 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $305.97 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $231.27 and a 1-year high of $311.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $297.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $286.39.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.