Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Sold by Covenant Asset Management LLC

Covenant Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 3.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 18,477 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 624 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing comprises approximately 0.8% of Covenant Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Covenant Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $5,113,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth $2,790,000. 49 Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth $321,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 0.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,252,807 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $623,419,000 after acquiring an additional 17,717 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A. acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth $659,000. Finally, Smithfield Trust Co grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 3.6% during the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 14,076 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,899,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $304.69 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $227.12 and a 52-week high of $309.37. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $288.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $265.44. The company has a market capitalization of $124.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 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 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.08 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This is an increase from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is 65.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Automatic Data Processing news, CEO Maria Black sold 19,147 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total transaction of $5,253,553.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 92,807 shares in the company, valued at $25,464,384.66. This represents a 17.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $11,692,500.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,781,200. This represents a 54.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 96,946 shares of company stock worth $27,462,781. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ADP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Barclays boosted 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. Bank of America boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, 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 research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.