Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Sold by Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC

Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 11.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,165 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 272 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $634,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4,431.5% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,315,295 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $640,712,000 after purchasing an additional 2,264,202 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 28,478.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,194,587 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,305,780,000 after buying an additional 1,190,407 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at approximately $160,920,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 332.3% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 623,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $172,497,000 after acquiring an additional 479,145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,334,580 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,098,541,000 after acquiring an additional 424,328 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ADP opened at $305.97 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $297.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $285.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.91, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $231.27 and a one year high of $311.67.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at $4,027,233.98. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total value of $210,236.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 68,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,077,721.04. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on ADP shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.