Benson Investment Management Company Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Benson Investment Management Company Inc. decreased its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,847 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 75 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing makes up 2.3% of Benson Investment Management Company Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Benson Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $5,517,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,334,580 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,098,541,000 after purchasing an additional 424,328 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,517,642 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,906,257,000 after purchasing an additional 286,080 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 12.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,065,308 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $964,989,000 after purchasing an additional 435,093 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.1% during the second 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. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 1.3% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,238,526 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $896,197,000 after buying an additional 41,709 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $290.20 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.24 billion, a PE ratio of 30.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $298.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $278.98. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $231.27 and a 52-week high of $309.63.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.08 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $1.54 per share. This is an increase from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is 65.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ADP shares. Citigroup upped 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. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of 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. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $289.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 32,604 shares in the company, valued at $9,781,200. This trade represents a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 41,062 shares of company stock worth $12,299,550. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.