Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. Decreases Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. reduced its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 581,106 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 14,619 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing accounts for approximately 2.1% of Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $170,107,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth about $455,993,000. Winslow Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $396,714,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 26.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,136,763 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,796,415,000 after purchasing an additional 1,299,390 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $342,942,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 41,710.7% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,090,422 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $319,199,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087,814 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 473 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,218,112.80. The trade was a 6.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total value of $458,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 2,451 shares of company stock valued at $743,024. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

ADP opened at $322.96 on Tuesday. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $298.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $300.38. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $328.00. The firm has a market cap of $131.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76.

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

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 63.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price 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. TD Securities increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $296.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $303.55.

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.