Baldwin Investment Management LLC Sells 1,000 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Baldwin Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 32.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,047 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,000 shares during the period. Baldwin Investment Management LLC's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $599,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ADP. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at about $708,000. Bath Savings Trust Co grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 99,299 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $29,068,000 after purchasing an additional 1,951 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 529,690 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $146,581,000 after acquiring an additional 22,766 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 8.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 667,068 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $194,117,000 after acquiring an additional 51,828 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 121.7% during the 4th quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 12,898 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,776,000 after purchasing an additional 7,080 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ADP has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. 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. TD Securities lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $296.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $303.55.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total value of $458,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,686,852.74. The trade was a 11.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 473 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total value of $144,832.60. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 7,244 shares in the company, valued at $2,218,112.80. This trade represents a 6.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,451 shares of company stock worth $743,024. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $303.57 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 52-week low of $231.27 and a 52-week high of $322.84. The firm has a market cap of $123.69 billion, a PE ratio of 31.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company's 50 day moving average is $298.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $298.80.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $5.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.49 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. Automatic Data Processing's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.88 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.05%.

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.

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