Insider Selling: Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) VP Sells 1,067 Shares of Stock

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total value of $305,322.05. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,756,961. This represents a 14.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

David Foskett also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, January 6th, David Foskett sold 1,004 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.29, for a total transaction of $290,447.16.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of ADP traded up $1.49 on Tuesday, reaching $291.69. 2,320,838 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,623,244. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $298.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $279.35. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $231.27 and a 12 month high of $309.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.08 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. This is a boost from Automatic Data Processing's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Automatic Data Processing's payout ratio is presently 65.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on ADP shares. StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. UBS Group increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho boosted their target price 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. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $289.91.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Automatic Data Processing

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

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.