Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 100,797 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Hsbc Holdings PLC trimmed its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,188,657 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 100,797 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.29% of Automatic Data Processing worth $347,946,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fayez Sarofim & Co raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 1,358,258 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $397,603,000 after acquiring an additional 61,458 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 243,028 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $71,142,000 after purchasing an additional 3,218 shares during the period. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth approximately $10,784,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 14,190 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,152,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 100.7% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 31,554 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,237,000 after acquiring an additional 15,831 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 3,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $929,007.90. This trade represents a 43.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 473 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total transaction of $144,832.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,244 shares in the company, valued at $2,218,112.80. This represents a 6.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,775 shares of company stock valued at $1,447,893. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $284.85 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $300.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $298.30. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.27 and a twelve month high of $322.84. The company has a market capitalization of $116.06 billion, a PE ratio of 29.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.74. 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 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%. Research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 64.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ADP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group boosted 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 increased their target price on shares of 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 price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $302.30.

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.