Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp Cuts Stock Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp reduced its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 1.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 160,877 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,540 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $44,519,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,334,580 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,098,541,000 after acquiring an additional 424,328 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,517,642 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,906,257,000 after acquiring an additional 286,080 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 435,093 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 4.1% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,548,165 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $846,912,000 after buying an additional 139,561 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 1.3% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,238,526 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $896,197,000 after buying an additional 41,709 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock traded down $0.45 during trading on Friday, hitting $296.76. The stock had a trading volume of 1,620,501 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,644,411. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $296.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $271.23. The stock has a market cap of $120.92 billion, a PE ratio of 31.88, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $227.12 and a 12 month high of $309.63.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $4.83 billion during 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 business's revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.08 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This is a positive change from Automatic Data Processing's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. 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. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price 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. Two 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, Automatic Data Processing presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $289.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $11,692,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,781,200. This trade represents a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.