Ocean Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Ocean Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,105 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 110 shares during the quarter. Ocean Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $490,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. Ardent Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter worth $392,000. Americana Partners LLC boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 22,228 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,330,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the period. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 36.7% in the 4th quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 19,800 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,613,000 after purchasing an additional 5,318 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at $1,635,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 6.4% in the third quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC now owns 2,907 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $695,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ:ADP opened at $249.74 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a market capitalization of $102.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.78. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $201.46 and a one year high of $256.84. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $246.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $238.98.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $4.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.65 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 95.22% and a net margin of 19.14%. The business’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.96 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP John Ayala sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.13, for a total value of $352,695.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 19,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,510,498.79. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Don Mcguire sold 11,333 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $2,776,585.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 19,906 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,876,970. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP John Ayala sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.13, for a total transaction of $352,695.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 19,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,510,498.79. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 16,662 shares of company stock valued at $4,094,554. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ADP shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $267.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Bank of America upgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $217.00 to $243.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Mizuho raised their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, November 30th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $253.08.

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.