Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. Sells 13,492 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 689,715 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 13,492 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing comprises approximately 3.6% of Meridiem Investment Management Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. owned about 0.17% of Automatic Data Processing worth $201,920,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,334,580 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,098,541,000 after buying an additional 424,328 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,517,642 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,906,257,000 after buying an additional 286,080 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,238,526 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $896,197,000 after buying an additional 41,709 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4,431.5% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,315,295 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $640,712,000 after buying an additional 2,264,202 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,252,807 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $623,419,000 after buying an additional 17,717 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

ADP traded down $1.25 during trading on Thursday, hitting $311.97. 1,304,464 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,606,496. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.27 and a twelve month high of $313.72. The company has a market cap of $127.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.53, a PEG ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $298.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $289.59.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. Equities research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ADP shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $293.55.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP David Foskett sold 1,004 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.29, for a total transaction of $290,447.16. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 5,958 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,723,589.82. This represents a 14.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Automatic Data Processing 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.