Insider Selling: Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) VP Sells 473 Shares of Stock

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 473 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total value of $144,832.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,244 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,218,112.80. The trade was a 6.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of ADP traded up $2.93 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $291.94. The stock had a trading volume of 390,767 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,500,500. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $302.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $294.30. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.27 and a twelve month high of $322.84. The firm has a market cap of $118.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

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

Remove Ads

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ADP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research 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. Barclays raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $296.18.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Automatic Data Processing

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northstar Financial Companies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth approximately $496,000. Copia Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth approximately $87,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2,105.4% during the fourth quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,448 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $717,000 after acquiring an additional 2,337 shares during the period. Finally, Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV now owns 3,169 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $928,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.03% 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.