Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. cut its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 997,785 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 33,137 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing accounts for 1.4% of Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $232,454,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,670,083 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,085,849,000 after buying an additional 198,008 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.1% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,902,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,420,028,000 after purchasing an additional 288,234 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,242,859 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,261,327,000 after purchasing an additional 77,187 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 18.3% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,576,575 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $855,287,000 after purchasing an additional 553,946 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 40.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,128,701 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $752,703,000 after purchasing an additional 905,043 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $243.07 on Friday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $205.53 and a 52 week high of $256.84. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $246.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $239.26. The firm has a market cap of $99.85 billion, a PE ratio of 28.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 95.22% and a net margin of 19.14%. The business had revenue of $4.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.96 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Joseph Desilva sold 1,904 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total transaction of $485,520.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 17,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,380,645. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Joseph Desilva sold 1,904 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total transaction of $485,520.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 17,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,380,645. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Don Mcguire sold 11,333 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total value of $2,776,585.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 19,906 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,876,970. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,162 shares of company stock valued at $3,741,859. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on ADP shares. Bank of America upgraded Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $217.00 to $243.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Wolfe Research upgraded Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $267.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $254.58.

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.