First American Bank Sells 304 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

First American Bank lessened its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,226 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 304 shares during the quarter. First American Bank’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $4,164,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. now owns 12,177 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,565,000 after buying an additional 2,401 shares in the last quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,305 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $382,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 32,354 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,471,000 after acquiring an additional 1,228 shares during the last quarter. McGrath & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $691,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 41,710.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,087,814 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 0.0 %

NASDAQ ADP opened at $311.30 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $300.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $291.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company has a market cap of $126.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $231.27 and a one year high of $315.29.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. Research analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 64.23%.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total transaction of $210,236.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,077,721.04. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at $4,027,233.98. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ADP has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $293.55.

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.