Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) VP Jonathan S. Lehberger Sells 2,324 Shares

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total transaction of $704,869.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $929,007.90. This trade represents a 43.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Automatic Data Processing stock traded down $2.65 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $304.67. The company had a trading volume of 1,256,707 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,741,248. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.14 billion, a PE ratio of 31.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $297.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $285.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $231.27 and a 1-year high of $311.67.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.23%.

Institutional Trading of Automatic Data Processing

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ADP. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $209,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.8% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 280,961 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $77,750,000 after purchasing an additional 15,340 shares during the last quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth approximately $470,000. Dash Acquisitions Inc. boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 5.6% during the third quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. now owns 52,329 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,069,000 after buying an additional 2,781 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DRW Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at $951,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ADP shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective 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. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $293.55.

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.