Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Sold by Cox Capital Mgt LLC

Cox Capital Mgt LLC reduced its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 3.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,423 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 421 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing accounts for 2.3% of Cox Capital Mgt LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Cox Capital Mgt LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $3,185,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,731,270 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $11,923,265,000 after purchasing an additional 277,324 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,583,607 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,098,305,000 after buying an additional 65,965 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,174,419 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,807,438,000 after buying an additional 902,354 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 26.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,136,763 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,796,415,000 after buying an additional 1,299,390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,886,552 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,137,710,000 after buying an additional 219,032 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

NASDAQ ADP opened at $325.22 on Monday. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $303.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $301.70. The company has a market cap of $132.01 billion, a PE ratio of 33.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $231.27 and a 1-year high of $327.99.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $5.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.49 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.88 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ADP. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $298.00 to $321.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $305.64.

Insider Activity

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,073 shares in the company, valued at $3,686,852.74. This represents a 11.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 473 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total value of $144,832.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,218,112.80. This trade represents a 6.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,451 shares of company stock worth $743,024 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.