Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Sells 2,274 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 26.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,229 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,274 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,724,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Executive Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth approximately $9,097,000. Windward Capital Management Co. CA boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 3.3% during the third quarter. Windward Capital Management Co. CA now owns 23,888 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $6,610,000 after buying an additional 773 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth approximately $1,066,000. Equitable Trust Co. boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 117.3% in the 3rd quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 22,173 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $6,136,000 after purchasing an additional 11,967 shares during the period. Finally, ABLE Financial Group LLC grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 27.8% during the 3rd quarter. ABLE Financial Group LLC now owns 1,347 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on ADP. StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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 research report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP traded down $0.12 during trading on Friday, reaching $304.73. 1,552,646 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,607,719. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $284.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $261.93. The firm has a market cap of $124.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $225.38 and a 1-year high of $306.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. The company had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.08 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This is a positive change from Automatic Data Processing's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Automatic Data Processing's payout ratio is presently 59.77%.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction 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 owns 32,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,781,200. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total transaction of $2,479,748.35. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,741 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,899,862.45. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 97,792 shares of company stock valued at $27,691,708. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

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.