Vestcor Inc Reduces Stock Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Vestcor Inc decreased its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 13,743 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,225 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $3,803,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% in the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP traded down $1.48 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $300.75. The company had a trading volume of 1,952,248 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,646,542. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $227.12 and a 12 month high of $309.63. 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 $122.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a fifty day moving average of $296.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $270.83.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.08 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. This is a positive change from Automatic Data Processing's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is currently 59.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $11,692,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 32,604 shares in the company, valued at $9,781,200. This trade represents a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ADP. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Barclays upped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $289.91.

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.