Shufro Rose & Co. LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Shufro Rose & Co. LLC decreased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,845 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 215 shares during the period. Shufro Rose & Co. LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,711,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Main Street Group LTD raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 50.7% in the fourth quarter. Main Street Group LTD now owns 113 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 121.8% in the fourth quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 122 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Banque de Luxembourg S.A. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

NASDAQ ADP opened at $321.09 on Friday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $231.27 and a one year high of $323.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $301.13 and a 200 day moving average of $301.08. The company has a market capitalization of $130.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.48, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.09. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. The company had revenue of $5.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.49 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.88 EPS. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.05%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of Automatic Data Processing 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 directly owns 12,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,686,852.74. The trade was a 11.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 478 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 10th. The shares were 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 approximately $2,158,682.96. The trade was a 6.10% 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 valued at $743,024 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on 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 target on Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, TD Securities raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $298.00 to $321.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.