Empowered Funds LLC Has $8.04 Million Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Empowered Funds LLC lowered its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 23.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,045 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 8,841 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $8,038,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Empirical Finance LLC increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 14,335 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,967,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 16.5% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 153,147 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $42,380,000 after buying an additional 21,663 shares in the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter valued at about $232,000. ING Groep NV increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 49.7% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 184,509 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $51,059,000 after acquiring an additional 61,238 shares during the period. Finally, Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 21.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,294 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,572,000 after acquiring an additional 1,668 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction 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 owns 32,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,781,200. The trade was a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now owns 36,741 shares in the company, valued at $9,899,862.45. This represents a 20.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 97,792 shares of company stock worth $27,691,708. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays boosted their price target 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. 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. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

NASDAQ ADP traded down $4.35 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $297.64. 1,457,744 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,633,247. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $287.23 and a 200-day moving average of $263.87. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $227.12 and a one year high of $309.37. The stock has a market cap of $121.28 billion, a PE ratio of 31.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. The company had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.08 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This is an increase 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 2.07%. Automatic Data Processing's payout ratio is currently 59.77%.

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.