Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Stock Position Decreased by Americana Partners LLC

Americana Partners LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 20,164 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,150 shares during the quarter. Americana Partners LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $5,903,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ADP. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on ADP. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $293.55.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 0.7 %

ADP stock opened at $308.15 on Monday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $231.27 and a 12 month high of $311.67. The firm has a market cap of $125.56 billion, a PE ratio of 32.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $297.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $288.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

Insider Activity

In other Automatic Data Processing news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total value of $210,236.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 68,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,077,721.04. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were 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 represents a 43.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241 over the last 90 days. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Automatic Data Processing 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.