Bank & Trust Co Reduces Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Bank & Trust Co lowered its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,228 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 47 shares during the quarter. Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $945,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ADP. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 21,259 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,074,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 11.2% during the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 9,543 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,278,000 after acquiring an additional 963 shares during the last quarter. Custom Index Systems LLC purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $405,000. Mount Lucas Management LP acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 2nd quarter valued at $320,000. Finally, Trium Capital LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the second quarter worth $1,672,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ ADP traded up $1.22 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $288.35. 402,815 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 991,576. The company has a market capitalization of $117.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $298.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $277.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.27 and a twelve month high of $309.63.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted 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 net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. The company had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.08 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. This is a positive change from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In related 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 32,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,781,200. This represents a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was 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 $20,077,721.04. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 40,058 shares of company stock valued at $12,009,103 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on ADP shares. Barclays upped their target price 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. UBS Group upped their price target 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, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $289.91.

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.