Synovus Financial Corp Sells 993 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Synovus Financial Corp trimmed its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,753 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 993 shares during the quarter. Synovus Financial Corp's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $17,492,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ADP. AMG National Trust Bank lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 11,334 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,318,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Aspiriant LLC raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 2,372 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $694,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,009 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,466,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gilbert & Cook Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 1,842 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $539,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $302.30.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

ADP stock traded down $0.86 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $293.28. 1,667,100 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,676,839. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.27 and a twelve month high of $322.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $301.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $298.01.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. Automatic Data Processing's payout ratio is presently 64.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total value of $458,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,073 shares in the company, valued at $3,686,852.74. This trade represents a 11.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 478 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.14, for a total transaction of $140,120.92. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,158,682.96. The trade was a 6.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,775 shares of company stock worth $1,447,893 over the last ninety days. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.