Troy Asset Management Ltd Reduces Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Troy Asset Management Ltd lowered its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 235,841 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 21,071 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing comprises about 2.1% of Troy Asset Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Troy Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $65,264,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 6.0% in the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,836 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,383,000 after buying an additional 894 shares during the period. Carr Financial Group Corp bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at $227,000. Sheets Smith Wealth Management bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at $534,000. Atria Investments Inc increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 1.7% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 63,540 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $17,583,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059 shares during the period. Finally, First Personal Financial Services lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 42.2% during the third quarter. First Personal Financial Services now owns 192 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 57 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 analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $304.73 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $124.17 billion, a PE ratio of 32.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $225.38 and a 12-month high of $306.92. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $284.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $261.82.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. The company 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. This is a boost 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 yield of 2.02%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,781,200. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total transaction of $228,927.60. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,816,946. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 97,792 shares of company stock valued at $27,691,708. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by 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.