Monarch Capital Management Inc. Sells 281 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Monarch Capital Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,823 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 281 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing comprises about 3.1% of Monarch Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Monarch Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $10,993,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MV Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 20.0% in the first quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,094 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 9.3% during the first quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,587 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,502 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,209,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 13.1% in the 1st quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 15,003 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,584,000 after buying an additional 1,742 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 811.7% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 637,601 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $194,806,000 after purchasing an additional 567,664 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 1.3%

NASDAQ:ADP opened at $314.52 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $127.67 billion, a PE ratio of 32.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $306.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $302.82. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $231.27 and a 1-year high of $329.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

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

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is 63.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on ADP. 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, June 5th. UBS Group upped 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 report on Tuesday, March 4th. TD Securities increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $298.00 to $321.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. One equities research 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.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $305.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 478 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.14, for a total value of $140,120.92. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,364 shares in the company, valued at $2,158,682.96. This trade represents a 6.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of Automatic Data Processing 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 sale, the vice president now owns 12,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,686,852.74. This trade represents a 11.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.