Monarch Capital Management Inc. Sells 981 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Monarch Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 981 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing accounts for approximately 2.9% of Monarch Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Monarch Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $10,618,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,334,580 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,098,541,000 after buying an additional 424,328 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.8% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 12.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,065,308 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $964,989,000 after purchasing an additional 435,093 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,548,165 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $846,912,000 after purchasing an additional 139,561 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.3% in 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. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

ADP opened at $296.18 on Friday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $231.27 and a 1-year high of $309.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $297.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $279.99. The company has a market capitalization of $120.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $4.83 billion for 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.08 EPS. Research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ADP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $289.91.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total value of $305,322.05. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,961. The trade was a 14.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $11,692,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares in the company, valued at $9,781,200. The trade was a 54.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 42,129 shares of company stock valued at $12,604,872 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.21% 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.