Troy Asset Management Ltd Sells 7,973 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Troy Asset Management Ltd decreased its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 309,176 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 7,973 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing accounts for 2.3% of Troy Asset Management Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Troy Asset Management Ltd owned approximately 0.08% of Automatic Data Processing worth $72,029,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ADP. Heritage Investment Group Inc. raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Heritage Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,201 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $513,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 8,863 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,065,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.1% in the third quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,151 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $999,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 4,580 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,067,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,806 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $421,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ADP shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Mizuho increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $254.00 to $250.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $267.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $280.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $255.42.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 694 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.43, for a total value of $173,104.42. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,159,958.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Joseph Desilva sold 1,904 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total value of $485,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 17,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,380,645. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 694 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.43, for a total value of $173,104.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,159,958.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,966 shares of company stock valued at $749,524. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of ADP stock traded up $1.72 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $246.86. 757,872 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,754,703. The stock's 50 day moving average is $245.00 and its 200-day moving average is $239.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $205.53 and a fifty-two week high of $256.84. The company has a market cap of $101.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.78.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.79 by $0.09. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 93.09%. The firm had revenue of $5.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.52 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.15 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 Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. Automatic Data Processing's payout ratio is presently 62.50%.

Automatic Data Processing 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.

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