Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Sold by HBW Advisory Services LLC

HBW Advisory Services LLC lowered its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,052 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 260 shares during the quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $3,235,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 4,431.5% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,315,295 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $640,712,000 after acquiring an additional 2,264,202 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 28,478.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,194,587 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,305,780,000 after buying an additional 1,190,407 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter valued at about $160,920,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 332.3% during the 3rd 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 buying an additional 479,145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 242.4% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 644,135 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $153,749,000 after buying an additional 456,027 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ADP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

NASDAQ:ADP traded down $3.64 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $288.25. 1,071,705 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,270,121. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $231.27 and a 52-week high of $309.63. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $298.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $277.85. 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 company has a market cap of $117.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 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 analyst estimates of $4.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.08 EPS. Automatic Data Processing’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. This is a positive change from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 65.74%.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP David Foskett sold 1,004 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.29, for a total transaction of $290,447.16. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,958 shares in the company, valued at $1,723,589.82. The trade was a 14.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 41,062 shares of company stock worth $12,299,550 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.