Ledyard National Bank Reduces Stock Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Ledyard National Bank lowered its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,425 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 151 shares during the quarter. Ledyard National Bank’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $2,880,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 236,707 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $69,290,000 after acquiring an additional 21,910 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 42.8% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,725 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,090,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117 shares during the period. Napatree Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 3,199 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $936,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 250,836 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $76,638,000 after acquiring an additional 20,467 shares during the period. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 92.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,026 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,935,000 after acquiring an additional 4,808 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 478 shares of the company’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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,158,682.96. This represents a 6.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,686,852.74. The trade was a 11.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 1.3%

ADP opened at $310.24 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $125.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.75, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $231.27 and a 12 month high of $329.93. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $309.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $302.99.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $5.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.49 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 77.33% and a net margin of 19.79%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.88 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ADP shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group lowered their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $323.00 to $315.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 13th. Mizuho upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $321.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. TD Securities upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $298.00 to $321.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.08.

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.