US Asset Management LLC Reduces Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

US Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,054 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 197 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing accounts for approximately 1.1% of US Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. US Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,206,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 14.2% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 801,857 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $200,256,000 after buying an additional 99,515 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 70.7% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 638,507 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $152,405,000 after purchasing an additional 264,466 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 195.1% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 51,607 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,888,000 after buying an additional 34,118 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the first quarter worth $2,924,000. Finally, LVW Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 23.8% during the first quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 3,854 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $962,000 after acquiring an additional 740 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ADP. Barclays upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $282.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $267.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $265.36.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total transaction of $2,479,748.35. Following the transaction, the director now owns 36,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,899,862.45. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total transaction of $7,164,724.32. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 88,426 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,959,908.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total value of $2,479,748.35. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 36,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,899,862.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 58,817 shares of company stock valued at $15,999,208. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.3 %

ADP stock opened at $277.51 on Friday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $205.53 and a 12 month high of $279.58. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $260.52 and its 200 day moving average is $250.55. The company has a market capitalization of $113.17 billion, a PE ratio of 30.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $4.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.74 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.54% and a return on equity of 89.20%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.89 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 10.04 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is 62.50%.

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.