Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Sold by Monarch Capital Management Inc.

Monarch Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 36,104 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 981 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing accounts for 2.9% of Monarch Capital Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Monarch Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $10,618,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ADP. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% in the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on ADP shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

ADP stock traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $296.18. 2,405,360 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,454,451. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock's 50 day moving average is $297.90 and its 200 day moving average is $280.29. The company has a market cap of $120.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 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.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. The company had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.08 EPS. Automatic Data Processing's revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing's payout ratio is currently 65.74%.

Insider Activity

In other Automatic Data Processing news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total transaction 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 approximately $20,077,721.04. The trade was a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total transaction of $305,322.05. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,961. The trade was a 14.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 42,129 shares of company stock valued at $12,604,872 in the last ninety days. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.