Chronos Wealth Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Chronos Wealth Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 23.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 820 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 250 shares during the quarter. Chronos Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $240,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 2.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,334,580 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,098,541,000 after acquiring an additional 424,328 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,517,642 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,906,257,000 after purchasing an additional 286,080 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,238,526 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $896,197,000 after purchasing an additional 41,709 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 4,431.5% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,315,295 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $640,712,000 after purchasing an additional 2,264,202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,252,807 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $623,419,000 after buying an additional 17,717 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ ADP opened at $305.97 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $297.21 and its 200-day moving average is $285.99. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $231.27 and a 1 year high of $311.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.67 billion, a PE ratio of 31.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. Equities analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is presently 64.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $293.55.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total transaction of $704,869.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $929,007.90. This trade represents a 43.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.