Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Reduces Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lowered its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 86,638 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,135 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $25,362,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Quest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 2,248.7% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 3,711 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,027,000 after purchasing an additional 3,553 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at approximately $273,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth $84,000. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 1.5% during the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 5,783 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,600,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Advisors LLC raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 28.8% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 18,800 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,203,000 after acquiring an additional 4,200 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company's stock.

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Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 0.2 %

Automatic Data Processing stock traded up $0.49 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $299.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,474,794 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,460,260. The stock's fifty day moving average is $303.26 and its 200 day moving average is $295.70. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $231.27 and a 1-year high of $322.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. 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 (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.23%.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 473 shares of the business's 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,244 shares in the company, valued at $2,218,112.80. The trade was a 6.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total transaction of $704,869.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at $929,007.90. The trade was a 43.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,951 shares of company stock worth $1,762,074 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ADP. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $296.18.

Automatic Data Processing 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.