Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Sold by First Heartland Consultants Inc.

First Heartland Consultants Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 55.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 883 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,083 shares during the quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc.'s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $258,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AMG National Trust Bank lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 11,334 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,318,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Sentinus LLC raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Sentinus LLC now owns 1,548 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $453,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,009 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,466,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 3,686 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,079,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 1,842 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $539,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on ADP shares. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $305.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total transaction of $458,070.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,073 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 473 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the vice president now owns 7,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,218,112.80. The trade was a 6.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,451 shares of company stock valued at $743,024. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock traded down $0.34 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $325.38. 334,443 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,700,117. The company has a fifty day moving average of $302.14 and a 200-day moving average of $301.34. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $231.27 and a 52-week high of $329.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $132.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76.

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

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing's payout ratio is currently 63.05%.

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.