Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 579,885 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 6,653 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.14% of Automatic Data Processing worth $169,750,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 1,054 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $292,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,742 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $482,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Aspiriant LLC grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 2,372 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $694,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,009 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,466,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riversedge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $293.55.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ADP traded down $1.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $310.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,600,341 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,606,313. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.62 billion, a PE ratio of 32.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $298.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $289.74. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $231.27 and a 52 week high of $313.72.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total transaction of $210,236.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 68,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,077,721.04. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.