First Financial Bank Trust Division Sells 104 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

First Financial Bank Trust Division reduced its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,626 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 104 shares during the period. First Financial Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,354,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. State Street Corp lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 2.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,334,580 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,098,541,000 after purchasing an additional 424,328 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,517,642 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,906,257,000 after buying an additional 286,080 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 435,093 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 1.3% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,238,526 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $896,197,000 after acquiring an additional 41,709 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of ADP stock traded down $3.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $289.65. The company had a trading volume of 976,073 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,655,637. The company has a market capitalization of $118.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $231.27 and a 52-week high of $309.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $298.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $276.21.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. The business had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.08 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $1.54 dividend. This is a boost from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.74%.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $11,692,500.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,781,200. This represents a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on ADP. Barclays raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $289.91.

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.