Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Decreases Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. cut its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 68.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,528 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 69,050 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.'s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $8,725,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Accredited Investors Inc. raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 4,431.5% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,315,295 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $640,712,000 after purchasing an additional 2,264,202 shares during the period. BlueSpruce Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the first quarter valued at approximately $365,757,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 28,478.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,194,587 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,305,780,000 after buying an additional 1,190,407 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 238.1% during the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 784,003 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $195,797,000 after acquiring an additional 552,096 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 242.4% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 644,135 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $153,749,000 after acquiring an additional 456,027 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total value of $2,479,748.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 36,741 shares in the company, valued at $9,899,862.45. The trade was a 20.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $11,692,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 32,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,781,200. This trade represents a 54.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 96,946 shares of company stock valued at $27,462,781 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on ADP shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 0.2 %

Automatic Data Processing stock traded up $0.58 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $305.15. The stock had a trading volume of 1,280,157 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,632,813. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $227.12 and a 52-week high of $309.37. The company has a fifty day moving average of $288.99 and a 200 day moving average of $265.44. The firm has a market cap of $124.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $4.83 billion during 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%. Automatic Data Processing's quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.08 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This is a boost from Automatic Data Processing's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is presently 65.74%.

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.