Freestone Capital Holdings LLC Sells 41 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Freestone Capital Holdings LLC trimmed its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,327 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 41 shares during the quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $5,072,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 13,346 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,907,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $342,942,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $484,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 89,800 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,287,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 117,916 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,518,000 after acquiring an additional 589 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $310.43 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $126.49 billion, a PE ratio of 32.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $301.77 and its 200-day moving average is $293.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $231.27 and a 52 week high of $322.84.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 64.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. 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 report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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 report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.18.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 3,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $929,007.90. The trade was a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction 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 trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241 over the last quarter. Company 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.