Metis Global Partners LLC Sells 954 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Metis Global Partners LLC cut its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,432 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 954 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $4,760,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Ardent Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $392,000. Americana Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 3.1% in the third quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 22,228 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,330,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 28.5% in the 4th 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 period. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC increased 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 worth $4,613,000 after purchasing an additional 5,318 shares during the period. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,635,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Joseph Desilva sold 1,904 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total transaction of $485,520.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 17,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,380,645. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, VP Joseph Desilva sold 1,904 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total value of $485,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 17,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,380,645. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 368 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.01, for a total value of $90,899.68. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,018,996.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,829 shares of company stock valued at $965,274. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $254.00 to $250.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $267.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given 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 an average price target of $255.42.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP traded up $0.85 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $242.74. 1,105,902 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,788,061. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $205.53 and a 1 year high of $256.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $245.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $238.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.78.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.79 by $0.09. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 93.09%. The firm had revenue of $5.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.50%.

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.