Bayesian Capital Management LP Sells 9,500 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Bayesian Capital Management LP trimmed its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 75.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,119 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 9,500 shares during the period. Bayesian Capital Management LP's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $913,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 121.8% in the 4th quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 122 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on ADP. Barclays increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. TD Securities upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $296.00 to $298.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $303.55.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $303.96 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $123.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $231.27 and a 1-year high of $322.84. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $298.04 and a 200-day moving average of $298.88. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.09. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. The firm had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.88 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect 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, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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