Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Sells 2,274 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 26.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,229 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,274 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,724,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Executive Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at $9,097,000. Windward Capital Management Co. CA boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 3.3% during the third quarter. Windward Capital Management Co. CA now owns 23,888 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,610,000 after buying an additional 773 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth about $1,066,000. Equitable Trust Co. increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 117.3% in the 3rd quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 22,173 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,136,000 after acquiring an additional 11,967 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ABLE Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 27.8% in the 3rd quarter. ABLE Financial Group LLC now owns 1,347 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $373,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on ADP. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of ADP stock opened at $304.73 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $284.12 and a 200 day moving average of $261.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $225.38 and a 1-year high of $306.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.17 billion, a PE ratio of 32.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. The firm had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.08 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. This is an increase from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is 59.77%.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $9,781,200. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total transaction of $7,164,724.32. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 88,426 shares in the company, valued at $23,959,908.96. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $11,692,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,781,200. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 97,792 shares of company stock worth $27,691,708. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.