Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Stock Position Reduced by ORG Partners LLC

ORG Partners LLC decreased its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 32.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 804 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 383 shares during the quarter. ORG Partners LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $236,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. MGO One Seven LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 6,572 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,569,000 after buying an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 21.9% in the second quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 16,107 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,845,000 after acquiring an additional 2,892 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 5.4% in the second quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 554,982 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $132,469,000 after acquiring an additional 28,297 shares in the last quarter. PFG Advisors increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 12,560 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,998,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 24.1% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 12,110 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,890,000 after purchasing an additional 2,350 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on ADP shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $289.91.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total value of $210,236.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,077,721.04. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP David Foskett sold 1,004 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.29, for a total value of $290,447.16. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,723,589.82. This represents a 14.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 41,062 shares of company stock worth $12,299,550. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

NASDAQ ADP opened at $286.85 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $298.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $278.12. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $231.27 and a 52-week high of $309.63. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $116.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the company earned $2.08 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This is a boost from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is currently 65.74%.

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.