Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) CEO Maria Black Sells 721 Shares

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 68,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,077,721.04. The trade was a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $288.40 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $117.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.78, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $231.27 and a 12 month high of $309.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $298.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $277.66.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $4.83 billion during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.08 EPS. As a group, equities research 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 was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $1.54 per share. This is a boost from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 65.74%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Automatic Data Processing

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Range Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 48.3% during the 4th quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 1,332 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 99,299 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,068,000 after buying an additional 1,951 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 12,644 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,701,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,683,000. Finally, Pensionfund Sabic lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 7,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,313,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on ADP shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on 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. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing 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.