Colonial Trust Advisors Sells 204 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Colonial Trust Advisors lowered its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 10.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,680 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 204 shares during the quarter. Colonial Trust Advisors’ holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $492,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $455,993,000. Winslow Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at $396,714,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at $342,942,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 41,710.7% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,090,422 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $319,199,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087,814 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 3,120,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $910,972,000 after purchasing an additional 449,431 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total value of $305,322.05. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,961. This trade represents a 14.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at $929,007.90. This trade represents a 43.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,364 shares of company stock worth $1,613,094 over the last 90 days. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of ADP stock opened at $292.21 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.47, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $302.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $297.39.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released 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 return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. Equities research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 64.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ADP has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $302.30.

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.