Sigma Planning Corp Trims Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Sigma Planning Corp decreased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 16.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,728 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,161 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,585,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% in the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of ADP opened at $307.91 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $125.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.79. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $284.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $262.46. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $226.09 and a 12 month high of $309.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.08 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. This is an increase from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is 59.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ADP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $289.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total transaction of $228,927.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,816,946. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total transaction of $7,164,724.32. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 88,426 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,959,908.96. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total transaction of $228,927.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,410 shares in the company, valued at $2,816,946. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 97,792 shares of company stock worth $27,691,708. 0.21% of the stock is owned by 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.