Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Sold by DF Dent & Co. Inc.

DF Dent & Co. Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 16,385 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 303 shares during the quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $4,534,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. Accredited Investors Inc. grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4,431.5% in the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,315,295 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $640,712,000 after purchasing an additional 2,264,202 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 28,478.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,194,587 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,305,780,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190,407 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at approximately $160,920,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 332.3% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 623,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $172,497,000 after purchasing an additional 479,145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 242.4% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 644,135 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $153,749,000 after purchasing an additional 456,027 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of ADP opened at $304.56 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $124.10 billion, a PE ratio of 32.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s fifty day moving average is $295.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $270.01. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $227.12 and a fifty-two week high of $309.63. 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 (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.08 EPS. Analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors 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 is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is presently 59.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ADP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $289.91.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $11,692,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,781,200. The trade was a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company 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.