First Heartland Consultants Inc. Sells 1,083 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

First Heartland Consultants Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 55.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in 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 period. First Heartland Consultants Inc.'s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $258,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. AMG National Trust Bank increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.3% in the fourth 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 period. Sentinus LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Sentinus LLC now owns 1,548 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $453,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,009 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $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% during 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 acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $539,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 1.4%

ADP traded up $4.57 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $325.66. 808,595 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,705,056. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $301.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $301.17. 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 12-month low of $231.27 and a 12-month high of $325.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $132.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.96, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76.

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

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 478 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.14, for a total value of $140,120.92. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,364 shares in the company, valued at $2,158,682.96. The trade was a 6.10% 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 Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,451 shares of company stock worth $743,024 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ADP shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group increased their target price 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. Finally, TD Securities increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $298.00 to $321.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $305.64.

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.