BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Sells 10,391 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp reduced its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 68,292 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 10,391 shares during the quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $18,898,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the second quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 2nd quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of ADP traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $306.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 805,046 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,561,798. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $227.12 and a one year high of $309.63. The stock's 50-day moving average is $292.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $268.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.06 billion, a PE ratio of 32.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. The business's revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.08 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $1.54 dividend. This is a boost from Automatic Data Processing's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is 59.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ADP shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $289.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total value of $2,479,748.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 36,741 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,899,862.45. This represents a 20.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $11,692,500.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 32,604 shares in the company, valued at $9,781,200. The trade was a 54.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 70,504 shares of company stock valued at $20,298,056 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

About Automatic Data Processing

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.