Carret Asset Management LLC Sells 180 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Carret Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,049 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 180 shares during the period. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $2,942,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 1.2 %

ADP opened at $290.55 on Friday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $231.27 and a one year high of $322.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $302.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $294.30.

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 (EPS) 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated 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. Two research 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.18.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total value of $210,236.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,077,721.04. The trade was a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total transaction of $704,869.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $929,007.90. This represents a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,951 shares of company stock valued at $1,762,074. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing 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.