Bank of Montreal Can Trims Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Bank of Montreal Can decreased its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 935,243 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 35,381 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned approximately 0.23% of Automatic Data Processing worth $273,774,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. XTX Topco Ltd increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 24.5% in the third quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 5,383 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,490,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 13,606 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,765,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at $1,830,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.8% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 280,961 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $77,750,000 after purchasing an additional 15,340 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on ADP. UBS Group raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price 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. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $302.30.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 2.5 %

ADP traded up $7.33 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $299.54. 2,187,994 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,672,843. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $302.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $297.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $122.05 billion, a PE ratio of 31.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $231.27 and a 1 year high of $322.84.

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 for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing's payout ratio is 64.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 473 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total transaction 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 $2,218,112.80. This represents a 6.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total transaction of $458,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,073 shares in the company, valued at $3,686,852.74. This trade represents a 11.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 5,364 shares of company stock worth $1,613,094. 0.21% of the stock is 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.