AlphaQuest LLC Sells 3,379 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

AlphaQuest LLC reduced its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 91.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 332 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,379 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $97,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,334,580 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,098,541,000 after purchasing an additional 424,328 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,517,642 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,906,257,000 after acquiring an additional 286,080 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,238,526 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $896,197,000 after acquiring an additional 41,709 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 3,120,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $910,972,000 after acquiring an additional 449,431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,321,849 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $679,675,000 after acquiring an additional 69,042 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

ADP stock opened at $295.93 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $120.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.86, a price-to-earnings-growth 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $231.27 and a 52-week high of $322.84. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $302.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $295.04.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly 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%. Research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ADP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.18.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 473 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total transaction of $144,832.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,244 shares in the company, valued at $2,218,112.80. This trade represents a 6.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,951 shares of company stock valued at $1,762,074 in the last 90 days. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.