Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT Trims Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT decreased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 145,803 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 44 shares during the period. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $42,681,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,529 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,253,000 after buying an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,932 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,473,000 after purchasing an additional 922 shares during the last quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at about $208,000. Monte Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Monte Financial Group LLC now owns 16,634 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,603,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McAdam LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 1,794 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $496,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

NASDAQ ADP opened at $311.97 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $127.12 billion, a PE ratio of 32.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.27 and a twelve month high of $313.72. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $298.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $289.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts anticipate 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 dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ADP. TD Cowen raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $293.55.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP David Foskett sold 1,004 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.29, for a total value of $290,447.16. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,723,589.82. This represents a 14.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.