Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Sells 625 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC reduced its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 198,183 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 625 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $46,171,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 22,539.4% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 934,326 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $217,670,000 after acquiring an additional 930,199 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 40.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,128,701 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $752,703,000 after purchasing an additional 905,043 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 65.5% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,402,511 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $337,416,000 after purchasing an additional 555,184 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,576,575 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $855,287,000 after buying an additional 553,946 shares during the period. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth about $107,401,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of ADP stock traded down $0.14 during trading on Friday, hitting $241.89. 1,491,532 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,451,137. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $205.53 and a 52-week high of $256.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $245.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $239.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $2.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.79 by $0.09. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 93.09%. The company had revenue of $5.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.52 earnings per share. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 62.50%.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 368 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.01, for a total value of $90,899.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,319 shares in the company, valued at $5,018,996.19. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Joseph Desilva sold 1,904 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total transaction of $485,520.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 17,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,380,645. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 368 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.01, for a total transaction of $90,899.68. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,319 shares in the company, valued at $5,018,996.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,829 shares of company stock worth $965,274 in the last three months. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $267.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 11th. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $253.00 to $251.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $254.00 to $250.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $255.42.

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.