Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Sells 475 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 49,950 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 475 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $14,622,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% in 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 during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

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

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

ADP stock opened at $305.97 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.67 billion, a PE ratio of 31.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $297.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $286.39. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $311.67.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. Analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ADP shares. TD Cowen increased their price target 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. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.