Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Stock Position Lowered by Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd reduced its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 35.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,992 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,091 shares during the quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $583,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $708,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.8% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 280,961 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $77,750,000 after acquiring an additional 15,340 shares during the last quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 99,299 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,068,000 after acquiring an additional 1,951 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 529,690 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $146,581,000 after acquiring an additional 22,766 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 8.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 667,068 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $194,117,000 after purchasing an additional 51,828 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total transaction of $458,070.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 12,073 shares in the company, valued at $3,686,852.74. The trade was a 11.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, 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 position. 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 over the last three months. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ADP shares. Barclays raised their price target 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 lifted their target price 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. 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. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $302.30.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ADP opened at $286.13 on Monday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $231.27 and a 12 month high of $322.84. The company has a market cap of $116.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.74. The business’s 50 day moving average is $304.41 and its two-hundred day 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.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its 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 net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. On average, equities analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

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