Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Reduces Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC decreased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 48,571 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 565 shares during the quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $11,593,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 105.2% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $467,000 after buying an additional 1,034 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth about $814,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 8,308 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,936,000 after purchasing an additional 918 shares during the last quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,095 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 30,714 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,155,000 after purchasing an additional 2,398 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.2 %

ADP stock opened at $270.00 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $110.11 billion, a PE ratio of 30.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $256.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $249.68. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $205.53 and a fifty-two week high of $278.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $4.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.74 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.54% and a return on equity of 89.20%. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.89 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 10.04 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ADP has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $282.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $265.36.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Don Mcguire sold 3,179 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total value of $872,254.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 41,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,440,548.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 10,410 shares in the company, valued at $2,816,946. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Don Mcguire sold 3,179 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total value of $872,254.02. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 41,696 shares in the company, valued at $11,440,548.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 49,614 shares of company stock valued at $13,519,460. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.