Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Sold by Ascent Wealth Partners LLC

Ascent Wealth Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,927 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 460 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing accounts for approximately 2.0% of Ascent Wealth Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $14,093,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased 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 worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on ADP. Citigroup raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. UBS Group raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 0.2 %

ADP stock traded down $0.48 during trading on Thursday, hitting $304.70. 4,277 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,630,002. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $282.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $261.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.57, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $223.28 and a 52-week high of $306.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 positive change from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 59.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Automatic Data Processing news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total transaction of $2,479,748.35. Following the transaction, the director now owns 36,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,899,862.45. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total value of $228,927.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,816,946. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $9,899,862.45. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 58,817 shares of company stock valued at $15,999,208 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.