Gotham Asset Management LLC Reduces Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Gotham Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 7.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 80,882 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 6,256 shares during the quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $23,677,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 121.8% during the fourth quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 122 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Banque de Luxembourg S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $303.55.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $308.01 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.12, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $231.27 and a 52 week high of $322.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $297.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $299.18.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,686,852.74. This trade represents a 11.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 473 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total value of $144,832.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,218,112.80. The trade was a 6.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,451 shares of company stock worth $743,024. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.