Advisors Asset Management Inc. Lowers Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lessened its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 52,024 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,126 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $14,397,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 1,054 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $292,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.1% in the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,742 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $482,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% during the third quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,485 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,902,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% during the second quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 5,698 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,360,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Austin Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 4.4% in the third quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 923 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

ADP stock traded up $1.05 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $298.59. 2,158,647 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,633,587. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $227.12 and a twelve month high of $309.37. The company has a market capitalization of $121.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a 50-day moving average of $288.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $264.93.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 EPS 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%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.08 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $1.54 dividend. This is an increase from Automatic Data Processing's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target 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. Barclays boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Mizuho increased their price target 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $289.91.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total value of $228,927.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,410 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,816,946. The trade was a 7.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 97,792 shares of company stock worth $27,691,708. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company 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.