Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Stake Lessened by Foster & Motley Inc.

Foster & Motley Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 2.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,246 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 153 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,728,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 3.4% during the third quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 1,054 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $292,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,485 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,902,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 5,698 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,360,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Austin Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 923 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,645 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,302,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total value of $2,479,748.35. Following the sale, the director now owns 36,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,899,862.45. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Automatic Data Processing news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total transaction of $2,479,748.35. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 36,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,899,862.45. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total transaction of $7,164,724.32. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 88,426 shares in the company, valued at $23,959,908.96. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 58,817 shares of company stock valued at $15,999,208 over the last quarter. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ADP has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted 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 note on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ADP opened at $305.18 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $282.92 and its 200-day moving average is $261.11. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $219.21 and a 52-week high of $306.71. 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 market cap of $124.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.57, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. The business 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $2.08 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. This is a boost from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is presently 59.77%.

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.