Sunflower Bank N.A. Trims Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Sunflower Bank N.A. lowered its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,646 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 109 shares during the quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $775,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 23.8% in the second quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 26,610 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,352,000 after purchasing an additional 5,114 shares during the period. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth $209,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 280,961 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $77,750,000 after buying an additional 15,340 shares in the last quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter valued at $470,000. Finally, Dash Acquisitions Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.6% in the third quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. now owns 52,329 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,069,000 after acquiring an additional 2,781 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP traded up $3.35 on Monday, hitting $290.20. 1,809,164 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,523,564. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $231.27 and a 1-year high of $309.63. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $298.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $278.61.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.08 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. This is a boost from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is presently 65.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on ADP. Citigroup increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $289.91.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $11,692,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 32,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,781,200. The trade was a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 41,062 shares of company stock valued at $12,299,550 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.