PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Sells 3,678 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,250,303 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,678 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned approximately 0.31% of Automatic Data Processing worth $345,996,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 12.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,065,308 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $964,989,000 after acquiring an additional 435,093 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,625,186 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $905,354,000 after purchasing an additional 81,869 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,548,165 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $846,912,000 after purchasing an additional 139,561 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 2,556,377 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $610,182,000 after buying an additional 9,464 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on ADP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Citigroup increased 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. Barclays boosted their price target 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 raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $289.91.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total transaction of $7,164,724.32. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 88,426 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,959,908.96. This represents a 23.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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 shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $11,692,500.00. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 97,792 shares of company stock valued at $27,691,708 in the last 90 days. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.1 %

Automatic Data Processing stock traded down $0.35 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $297.54. The stock had a trading volume of 1,741,746 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,631,244. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $287.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $264.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.24 billion, a PE ratio of 31.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $227.12 and a 12 month high of $309.37.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.08 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. This is a boost 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 payout ratio is presently 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.