Saybrook Capital NC Sells 82 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Saybrook Capital NC cut its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 68,299 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 82 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing comprises 5.3% of Saybrook Capital NC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Saybrook Capital NC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $19,993,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ADP. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at about $708,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 280,961 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $77,750,000 after purchasing an additional 15,340 shares during the last quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at about $470,000. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at about $951,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 51.1% in the 3rd quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 18,925 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,236,000 after purchasing an additional 6,399 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of ADP opened at $306.45 on Friday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.27 and a twelve month high of $322.84. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $302.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $293.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.96, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. 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 (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. Equities analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 64.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on ADP. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of 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 reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.18.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total value of $704,869.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $929,007.90. This trade represents a 43.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241. 0.21% of the stock is currently 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.