Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 2,434 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Kentucky Retirement Systems cut its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,409 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,434 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems' holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $7,862,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Accredited Investors Inc. increased its position 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 worth $640,712,000 after buying an additional 2,264,202 shares during the period. BlueSpruce Investments LP acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the first quarter valued at about $365,757,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 28,478.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,190,407 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 238.1% in the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 784,003 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $195,797,000 after purchasing an additional 552,096 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 242.4% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 644,135 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $153,749,000 after purchasing an additional 456,027 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ADP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted 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 report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of ADP traded down $4.35 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $297.64. 1,457,744 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,633,247. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $287.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $263.87. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $121.28 billion, a PE ratio of 31.77, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $227.12 and a 52 week high of $309.37.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 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 analyst estimates of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.08 EPS. On average, 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. This is a positive change from Automatic Data Processing's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is presently 59.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the firm's 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. This trade represents a 20.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $11,692,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 32,604 shares in the company, 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 sold 97,792 shares of company stock valued at $27,691,708 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

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.