Fmr LLC Lowers Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Fmr LLC decreased its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 36.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,261,129 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 713,664 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC owned approximately 0.31% of Automatic Data Processing worth $348,992,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ADP. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% during the 3rd 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. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 2nd quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Don Mcguire sold 3,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total transaction of $872,254.02. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 41,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,440,548.48. This trade represents a 7.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total value of $2,479,748.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,741 shares in the company, valued at $9,899,862.45. This trade represents a 20.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 70,504 shares of company stock valued at $20,298,056. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on ADP. Citigroup boosted their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note 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 company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $306.93 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $125.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.76, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.79. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $292.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $268.15.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.08 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. This is a boost from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 65.74%.

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.