Apriem Advisors Has $4.75 Million Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Apriem Advisors cut its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,236 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 954 shares during the period. Apriem Advisors’ holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $4,753,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of ADP opened at $311.21 on Thursday. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $231.27 and a 52-week high of $315.29. The firm has a market cap of $126.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.45, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.79. The business’s fifty day moving average is $299.84 and its 200-day moving average is $291.39.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. Equities analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is 64.23%.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total transaction of $210,236.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 68,856 shares in the company, valued at $20,077,721.04. The trade was a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total value of $305,322.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,756,961. This represents a 14.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on ADP. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $293.55.

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.