Sapient Capital LLC Lowers Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Sapient Capital LLC lessened its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 10.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,300 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 144 shares during the quarter. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $326,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ADP. Ardent Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter worth about $392,000. Americana Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 3.1% during the third quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 22,228 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,330,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 28.5% during the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,150 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,995,000 after purchasing an additional 3,800 shares during the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 36.7% during the fourth quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 19,800 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,613,000 after purchasing an additional 5,318 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,635,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock traded down $2.06 on Tuesday, hitting $241.89. 1,944,998 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,787,675. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $246.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $239.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.37 billion, a PE ratio of 28.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.78. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $205.53 and a one year high of $256.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $4.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.65 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 95.22%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.96 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Wolfe Research upgraded Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Bank of America upgraded Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $217.00 to $243.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $258.36.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Don Mcguire sold 11,333 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total value of $2,776,585.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 19,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,876,970. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, VP David Kwon sold 863 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $215,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,071,250. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Don Mcguire sold 11,333 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $2,776,585.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 19,906 shares in the company, valued at $4,876,970. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,162 shares of company stock valued at $3,741,859 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.