Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Sold by Ritholtz Wealth Management

Ritholtz Wealth Management cut its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 24.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,303 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 5,190 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $3,798,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth about $1,173,000. Successful Portfolios LLC raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Successful Portfolios LLC now owns 1,040 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 60.5% during the 4th quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 1,584 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $369,000 after purchasing an additional 597 shares in the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 80,848 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $18,835,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 21,666 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,047,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

ADP traded up $1.41 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $249.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,302,005 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,445,963. The stock has a market cap of $102.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.07, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $246.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $239.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $201.46 and a twelve month high of $256.84.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 95.22% and a net margin of 19.14%. The company had revenue of $4.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.96 EPS. Automatic Data Processing's revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 7th. Automatic Data Processing's payout ratio is presently 65.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ADP shares. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America raised Automatic Data Processing from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $217.00 to $243.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Automatic Data Processing from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $253.08.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 368 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.01, for a total transaction of $90,899.68. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 20,319 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,018,996.19. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 368 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.01, for a total transaction of $90,899.68. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 20,319 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,018,996.19. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP David Kwon sold 863 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $215,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,071,250. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 16,662 shares of company stock valued at $4,094,554. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.