Dearborn Partners LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Dearborn Partners LLC cut its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 256,069 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 5,957 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing accounts for 2.9% of Dearborn Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Dearborn Partners LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Automatic Data Processing worth $70,862,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 1st quarter worth about $754,000. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 3.2% during the first quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,771 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,941,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the period. Twin Tree Management LP lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 86.5% during the 1st quarter. Twin Tree Management LP now owns 41,278 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $10,309,000 after acquiring an additional 19,148 shares during the period. Cumberland Partners Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 1st quarter worth $680,000. Finally, Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 28.7% during the 1st quarter. Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC now owns 14,866 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,713,000 after acquiring an additional 3,319 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ADP shares. TD Cowen raised 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. 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 research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two investment 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, Automatic Data Processing presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $289.91.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total value of $228,927.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,410 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,816,946. This trade represents a 7.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were 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 $9,781,200. The trade was a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 97,792 shares of company stock worth $27,691,708 over the last three months. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 1.4 %

Automatic Data Processing stock traded down $4.34 during trading on Friday, reaching $297.65. The company had a trading volume of 657,984 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,629,645. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.04, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $227.12 and a 12-month high of $309.37. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $286.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $263.50.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.08 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $1.54 dividend. This is an increase from Automatic Data Processing's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.77%.

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.