GM Advisory Group LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

GM Advisory Group LLC decreased its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 16.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,942 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 592 shares during the quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $814,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,065,308 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $964,989,000 after purchasing an additional 435,093 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 4.1% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,548,165 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $846,912,000 after acquiring an additional 139,561 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% in the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 2,556,377 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $610,182,000 after acquiring an additional 9,464 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4,431.5% during the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,315,295 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $640,712,000 after acquiring an additional 2,264,202 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 13.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,296,344 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $548,099,000 after purchasing an additional 269,986 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on ADP. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $289.91.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $11,692,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares in the company, valued at $9,781,200. This represents a 54.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total value of $7,164,724.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 88,426 shares in the company, valued at $23,959,908.96. This trade represents a 23.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 96,946 shares of company stock worth $27,462,781 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 2.0 %

ADP stock opened at $304.69 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $124.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The business’s 50-day moving average is $288.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $265.44. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $227.12 and a fifty-two week high of $309.37.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. The company had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.08 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. This is an increase from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is presently 65.74%.

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.