Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC Sells 240 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 5.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,450 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 240 shares during the period. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,231,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlueSpruce Investments LP purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the first quarter valued at $365,757,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 28,478.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,194,587 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,305,780,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190,407 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 238.1% during the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 784,003 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $195,797,000 after purchasing an additional 552,096 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 242.4% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 644,135 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $153,749,000 after purchasing an additional 456,027 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 12.0% in the second 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. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of ADP opened at $304.73 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $284.12 and its 200 day moving average is $261.82. 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 company has a market capitalization of $124.17 billion, a PE ratio of 32.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 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. Research analysts expect 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 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 a positive change from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.77%.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,816,946. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total value of $2,479,748.35. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 36,741 shares in the company, valued at $9,899,862.45. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total transaction of $228,927.60. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 10,410 shares in the company, valued at $2,816,946. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on ADP shares. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Mizuho lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $289.91.

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.