3,593 Shares in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Purchased by Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc.

Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 3,593 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $995,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter worth about $35,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ADP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target 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. Barclays lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on 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 assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $289.91.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, CEO Maria Black sold 19,147 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total transaction of $5,253,553.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 92,807 shares in the company, valued at $25,464,384.66. The trade was a 17.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the business'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 value of $11,692,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 32,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,781,200. The trade was a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 70,504 shares of company stock valued at $20,298,056. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

NASDAQ ADP traded down $1.05 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $306.92. The company had a trading volume of 1,515,441 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,636,188. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market cap of $125.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $227.12 and a fifty-two week high of $309.63. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $291.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $267.31.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. The company had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.08 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. This is a boost from Automatic Data Processing's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.