Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Palisade Asset Management LLC

Palisade Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 62,641 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 269 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing comprises approximately 1.7% of Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $17,335,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 435,093 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,548,165 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $846,912,000 after buying an additional 139,561 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 2,556,377 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $610,182,000 after buying an additional 9,464 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4,431.5% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,315,295 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $640,712,000 after acquiring an additional 2,264,202 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 13.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,296,344 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $548,099,000 after acquiring an additional 269,986 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on ADP. Citigroup boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $289.91.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were 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 directly owns 32,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,781,200. This trade represents a 54.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total transaction of $7,164,724.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 88,426 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,959,908.96. This represents a 23.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 96,946 shares of company stock worth $27,462,781 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of ADP opened at $305.15 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $289.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $265.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $227.12 and a 1-year high of $309.37.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced 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. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. The company had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.77 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.08 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 59.77%.

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.