Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Sells 355 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI trimmed its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,443 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 355 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $6,277,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total value of $210,236.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 68,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,077,721.04. The trade was a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $292.44 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $302.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $294.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.16 billion, a PE ratio of 30.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $231.27 and a 12 month high of $322.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ADP shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.18.

Automatic Data Processing 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.