ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 51 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,522 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 51 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,985,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

ADP traded up $1.32 during trading on Friday, reaching $243.31. 1,638,700 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,816,781. The company’s 50-day moving average is $247.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $239.23. The company has a market cap of $99.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $201.46 and a 12-month high of $256.84.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $4.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.65 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 95.22% and a net margin of 19.14%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.96 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ADP shares. Bank of America raised Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $217.00 to $243.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $267.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $254.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Don Mcguire sold 11,333 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total value of $2,776,585.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 19,906 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,876,970. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Joseph Desilva sold 1,904 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total transaction of $485,520.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 17,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,380,645. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Don Mcguire sold 11,333 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total value of $2,776,585.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 19,906 shares in the company, valued at $4,876,970. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,162 shares of company stock worth $3,741,859 in the last ninety days. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.