Dearborn Partners LLC Has $70.86 Million Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Dearborn Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 256,069 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5,957 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing accounts for 2.9% of Dearborn Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $70,862,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 16.5% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 153,147 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $42,380,000 after purchasing an additional 21,663 shares during the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at approximately $232,000. ING Groep NV raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 49.7% in the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 184,509 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $51,059,000 after purchasing an additional 61,238 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 21.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,294 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,572,000 after buying an additional 1,668 shares during the period. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,024 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,051,000 after buying an additional 943 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $301.99 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $286.03 and a 200 day moving average of $263.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $123.05 billion, a PE ratio of 32.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $227.12 and a 52-week high of $309.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. The business 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.08 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. This is an increase from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is 59.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ADP shares. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Mizuho upped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group raised 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 report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $289.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Don Mcguire sold 3,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total transaction of $872,254.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 41,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,440,548.48. This trade represents a 7.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 97,792 shares of company stock valued at $27,691,708 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.