Rockland Trust Co. Has $21.01 Million Stock Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Rockland Trust Co. cut its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 71,769 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,871 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $21,009,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Accredited Investors Inc. raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4,431.5% in the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,315,295 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $640,712,000 after buying an additional 2,264,202 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in 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 worth $3,305,780,000 after acquiring an additional 1,190,407 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth $160,920,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 332.3% in the third 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 purchasing an additional 479,145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings 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 worth $153,749,000 after acquiring an additional 456,027 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ ADP opened at $291.69 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $298.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $279.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $231.27 and a 1 year high of $309.63. The firm has a market cap of $118.85 billion, a PE ratio of 31.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.08 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast 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 was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date was 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 65.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ADP. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of 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. TD Cowen lifted their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Citigroup lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $289.91.

Insider Activity

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 68,856 shares in the company, valued at $20,077,721.04. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 42,129 shares of company stock valued at $12,604,872. Company 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.