Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Position Cut by Cerro Pacific Wealth Advisors LLC

Cerro Pacific Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,331 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 63 shares during the period. Cerro Pacific Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $922,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

ADP opened at $295.80 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.57, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $297.27 and a 200-day moving average of $281.56. 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 12-month low of $231.27 and a 12-month high of $309.63.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.08 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 65.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the company’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 value of $11,692,500.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 32,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,781,200. The trade was a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 42,129 shares of company stock worth $12,604,872. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ADP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group boosted 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. Mizuho raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 19th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing 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.