Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Sold by S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC

S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC trimmed its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,350 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 118 shares during the period. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $981,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 35.5% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 11,822 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,461,000 after acquiring an additional 3,096 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 16,677 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,882,000 after acquiring an additional 1,231 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 5,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,499,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 24.9% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 501,493 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $146,802,000 after purchasing an additional 99,912 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,054,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 42,129 shares of company stock worth $12,604,872 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ADP opened at $291.69 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $298.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $279.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.85 billion, a PE ratio of 31.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $309.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

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

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were given a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This is a boost from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 65.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ADP. Mizuho upped 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. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective 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. Barclays lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen upped 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. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.