Argus Investors Counsel Inc. Trims Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. cut its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 25.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,704 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,291 shares during the quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,025,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the second quarter worth $27,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 230.3% in the first quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC now owns 109 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the first quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the first quarter valued at $36,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on ADP. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $267.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $275.33.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total value of $2,479,748.35. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 36,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,899,862.45. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total transaction of $228,927.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,410 shares in the company, valued at $2,816,946. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total value of $2,479,748.35. Following the transaction, the director now owns 36,741 shares in the company, valued at $9,899,862.45. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 58,817 shares of company stock worth $15,999,208. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP traded up $0.29 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $291.20. The company had a trading volume of 195,197 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,626,274. The stock has a market cap of $119.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $205.53 and a one year high of $294.18. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $277.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $257.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

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

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 62.50%.

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.