Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc. Sells 840 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,035 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 840 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing comprises 1.3% of Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,872,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 242.1% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 366 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the period. Lincoln National Corp lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 6.3% in the third quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 9,814 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,361,000 after acquiring an additional 583 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 12.7% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 369,641 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $88,928,000 after acquiring an additional 41,595 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 64,256 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,459,000 after purchasing an additional 7,308 shares during the period. Finally, Eldridge Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth $204,000. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ADP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $254.00 to $250.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Barclays raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $280.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $267.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $253.00 to $251.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $255.42.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 1.0 %

Automatic Data Processing stock traded down $2.59 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $248.90. The stock had a trading volume of 973,940 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,279,904. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $246.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $241.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.78. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $205.53 and a 12-month high of $256.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $2.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.79 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $5.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 93.09%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.52 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 694 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.43, for a total transaction of $173,104.42. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,159,958.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Automatic Data Processing

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.