Beech Hill Advisors Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Beech Hill Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 10.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,250 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the period. Beech Hill Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $2,521,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Main Street Group LTD grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 50.7% during the fourth quarter. Main Street Group LTD now owns 113 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Abound Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 58.1% in the 1st quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 117 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 121.8% in the fourth quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 122 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Banque de Luxembourg S.A. acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $298.19 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $121.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $310.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $303.01. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $231.27 and a 52 week high of $329.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.09. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.79% and a return on equity of 77.33%. The company had revenue of $5.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.88 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.05%.

Insider Activity

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total transaction of $458,070.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,686,852.74. The trade was a 11.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 478 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.14, for a total transaction of $140,120.92. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 7,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,158,682.96. This represents a 6.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Securities upped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $298.00 to $321.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, June 5th. UBS Group cut their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $323.00 to $315.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $321.00 to $332.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.08.

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.