Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Sold by Canopy Partners LLC

Canopy Partners LLC cut its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 7,077 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 45 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing comprises 0.8% of Canopy Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Canopy Partners LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,958,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 12.0% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,065,308 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $964,989,000 after purchasing an additional 435,093 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 4.1% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,548,165 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $846,912,000 after purchasing an additional 139,561 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% during the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 2,556,377 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $610,182,000 after purchasing an additional 9,464 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 4,431.5% during the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,315,295 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $640,712,000 after purchasing an additional 2,264,202 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 13.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,296,344 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $548,099,000 after purchasing an additional 269,986 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of ADP stock opened at $305.15 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $289.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $265.87. The firm has a market cap of $124.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.57, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $227.12 and a 1 year high of $309.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.08 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. This is a positive change from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on ADP shares. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $289.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 value of $2,479,748.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 36,741 shares in the company, valued at $9,899,862.45. This trade represents a 20.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 19,147 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total transaction of $5,253,553.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 92,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,464,384.66. The trade was a 17.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 96,946 shares of company stock valued at $27,462,781. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Company 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.