Blue Chip Partners LLC Cuts Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Blue Chip Partners LLC lessened its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,467 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 73 shares during the quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $3,357,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, 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 value of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,027,233.98. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total transaction of $704,869.20. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at $929,007.90. This trade represents a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ADP shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $293.55.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of ADP stock opened at $308.15 on Monday. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $311.67. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $297.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $288.77. The stock has a market cap of $125.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 64.23%.

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.