Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Position Reduced by Jensen Investment Management Inc.

Jensen Investment Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 5.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,755,115 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 99,295 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing comprises 4.1% of Jensen Investment Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Jensen Investment Management Inc. owned 0.43% of Automatic Data Processing worth $485,693,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 39,769,440 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $9,932,020,000 after purchasing an additional 173,298 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 12.0% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,065,308 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $964,989,000 after purchasing an additional 435,093 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.3% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,625,186 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $905,354,000 after purchasing an additional 81,869 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.1% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,548,165 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $846,912,000 after purchasing an additional 139,561 shares during the period. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% in the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 2,556,377 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $610,182,000 after purchasing an additional 9,464 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on ADP. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $289.91.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total value of $228,927.60. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 10,410 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,816,946. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total value of $228,927.60. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 10,410 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,816,946. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Don Mcguire sold 3,179 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total transaction of $872,254.02. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 41,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,440,548.48. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 97,792 shares of company stock valued at $27,691,708. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Automatic Data Processing stock traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $304.73. 1,552,646 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,607,719. The company has a market cap of $124.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.52, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $284.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $261.93. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $225.38 and a 12-month high of $306.92.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. Automatic Data Processing's revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.08 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. This is an increase from Automatic Data Processing's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is currently 59.77%.

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.