Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc. Trims Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,709 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 50 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing accounts for approximately 1.5% of Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $2,257,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 121.8% during the 4th quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 122 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on ADP. StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $302.30.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,027,233.98. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 473 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total value of $144,832.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,218,112.80. This trade represents a 6.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,951 shares of company stock worth $1,762,074. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 1.0 %

Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $302.41 on Thursday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $231.27 and a 1-year high of $322.84. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $303.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $295.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.53, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share 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 research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.23%.

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.