Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lessened its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,289 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 62 shares during the quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $3,597,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth about $224,000. Hilltop Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 515.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 19,024 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,264,000 after acquiring an additional 15,932 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Investment Management Corp of Ontario increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 49.4% in the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 13,604 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,765,000 after purchasing an additional 4,500 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 16.6% during the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 10,826 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,996,000 after purchasing an additional 1,545 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

ADP stock opened at $306.54 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $124.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. 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 $322.84. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $304.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $296.84.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. On average, equities analysts predict 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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 note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $302.30.

Insider Activity

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 473 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total transaction of $144,832.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,244 shares in the company, valued at $2,218,112.80. This represents a 6.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,027,233.98. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,951 shares of company stock worth $1,762,074 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.