Insider Selling: Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) VP Sells 1,004 Shares of Stock

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) VP David Foskett sold 1,004 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.29, for a total transaction of $290,447.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,723,589.82. The trade was a 14.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of ADP stock opened at $291.89 on Friday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $231.27 and a 12-month high of $309.63. The company has a market capitalization of $118.93 billion, a PE ratio of 31.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $298.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $277.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. The business 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.08 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. This is a positive change from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Automatic Data Processing from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $289.91.

Institutional Trading of Automatic Data Processing

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 21,259 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,074,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 11.2% during the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 9,543 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,278,000 after purchasing an additional 963 shares during the period. Custom Index Systems LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the second quarter worth about $405,000. Mount Lucas Management LP acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the second quarter worth about $320,000. Finally, Trium Capital LLP bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,672,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

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.