Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) is Freedom Together Foundation’s 5th Largest Position

Freedom Together Foundation reduced its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 80.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,487 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 72,000 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing makes up about 0.6% of Freedom Together Foundation’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. Freedom Together Foundation’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $5,119,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ADP. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 121.8% during the fourth quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 122 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Banque de Luxembourg S.A. purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $303.55.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of ADP opened at $308.01 on Friday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $231.27 and a 1-year high of $322.84. The company has a market capitalization of $125.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $297.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $299.18.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $5.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.49 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.88 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 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 Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total value of $458,070.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,686,852.74. The trade was a 11.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 473 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total value of $144,832.60. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,218,112.80. This trade represents a 6.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,451 shares of company stock worth $743,024 over the last ninety days. 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.