Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) VP Sells $106,366.46 in Stock

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $291.69 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $231.27 and a 1 year high of $309.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.85 billion, a PE ratio of 31.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $298.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $277.08.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. This is a positive change from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.74%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Automatic Data Processing

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth $26,000. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% in the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth about $35,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ADP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.