Blue Trust Inc. Sells 1,149 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Blue Trust Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 16.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,778 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,149 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.'s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,691,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ADP. Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 127,582 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $35,306,000 after purchasing an additional 3,456 shares during the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 11.1% during the third quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 1,993 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $551,000 after buying an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 2.0% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 51,518 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $14,257,000 after buying an additional 994 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 222.7% during the third quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 2,988 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $827,000 after buying an additional 2,062 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total value of $210,236.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,856 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,077,721.04. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

ADP stock traded up $3.27 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $313.22. The company had a trading volume of 1,406,994 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,615,906. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a 50 day moving average of $297.93 and a 200 day moving average of $289.42. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $313.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 EPS 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 predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is 64.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lifted 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 report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $293.55.

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.