Ghe LLC Sells 53 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Ghe LLC trimmed its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,628 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 53 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing comprises about 1.9% of Ghe LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Ghe LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $4,878,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 1,054 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $482,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Aspiriant LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 1.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% in the 4th 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, Riversedge Advisors LLC increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 3,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $929,007.90. This trade represents a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ ADP opened at $310.76 on Monday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $231.27 and a 1-year high of $313.72. 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 company has a market capitalization of $126.62 billion, a PE ratio of 32.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $298.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $290.54.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is presently 64.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ADP has been the subject of several recent research reports. TD Cowen raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $293.55.

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.