Clean Yield Group Sells 55 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Clean Yield Group reduced its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,547 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 55 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing accounts for about 1.9% of Clean Yield Group’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Clean Yield Group’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $6,015,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ADP. Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 23.8% in the second quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 26,610 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,352,000 after buying an additional 5,114 shares during the period. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth about $209,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 280,961 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $77,750,000 after purchasing an additional 15,340 shares during the last quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter valued at about $470,000. Finally, Dash Acquisitions Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.6% during the third quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. now owns 52,329 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,069,000 after purchasing an additional 2,781 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup boosted their price target 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. UBS Group increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $289.91.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,781,200. The trade was a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total transaction of $210,236.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,077,721.04. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,062 shares of company stock worth $12,299,550 in the last 90 days. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

ADP traded up $2.44 on Monday, hitting $289.29. The company had a trading volume of 843,290 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,378,285. The stock has a market cap of $117.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.87, 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 current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $298.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $278.61. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $231.27 and a 1-year high of $309.63.

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

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The firm 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 represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This is a boost from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is currently 65.74%.

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.