Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Lowers Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 121,542 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 4,303 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans' holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $35,679,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth $342,942,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 41,710.7% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,090,422 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $319,199,000 after buying an additional 1,087,814 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter valued at $160,920,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 332.3% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 623,341 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $172,497,000 after acquiring an additional 479,145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 3,120,039 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $910,972,000 after acquiring an additional 449,431 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ADP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. 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. UBS Group boosted 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $296.18.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total transaction of $704,869.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at $929,007.90. The trade was a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,951 shares of company stock worth $1,762,074. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 1.2 %

Automatic Data Processing stock traded up $3.57 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $298.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,709,089 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,460,980. 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 market capitalization of $121.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.17, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $303.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $295.50. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $231.27 and a 52-week high of $322.84.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 EPS 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

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.