Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Automatic Data Processing Put Options (NASDAQ:ADP)

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock traders bought 2,895 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 45% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,000 put options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 478 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.14, for a total value of $140,120.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,364 shares in the company, valued at $2,158,682.96. The trade was a 6.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total value of $704,869.20. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $929,007.90. This represents a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,775 shares of company stock valued at $1,447,893. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cushing Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the first quarter valued at approximately $978,000. Clarius Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 39.7% during the 1st quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 4,745 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,450,000 after acquiring an additional 1,348 shares in the last quarter. Hemenway Trust Co LLC boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Hemenway Trust Co LLC now owns 153,893 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $47,019,000 after acquiring an additional 4,645 shares during the last quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.6% in the first quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $486,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the first quarter valued at $2,444,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of ADP traded down $0.86 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $293.28. 1,667,100 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,677,728. Automatic Data Processing has a 52-week low of $231.27 and a 52-week high of $322.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market cap of $119.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.74. The company's 50-day moving average price is $301.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $298.01.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. On average, analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing's payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $302.30.

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.