Sky Investment Group LLC Has $6.74 Million Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Sky Investment Group LLC reduced its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,015 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 133 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing accounts for about 1.2% of Sky Investment Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Sky Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $6,737,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the second quarter valued at $314,000. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 28.5% in the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,458 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,258,000 after acquiring an additional 2,096 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 68,079 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $16,250,000 after acquiring an additional 3,682 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 120,769 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,826,000 after purchasing an additional 4,427 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 106,152 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,337,000 after purchasing an additional 8,424 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on ADP. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted 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. Barclays raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $296.18 on Tuesday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $231.27 and a 12-month high of $309.63. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $297.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $280.60. The firm has a market cap of $120.68 billion, a PE ratio of 31.61, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

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

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 65.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total value of $305,322.05. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,961. The trade was a 14.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 32,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,781,200. This trade represents a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 42,129 shares of company stock valued at $12,604,872 in the last ninety days. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Automatic Data Processing

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.