Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Sold by Conning Inc.

Conning Inc. reduced its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 9.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 125,570 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 13,664 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing makes up about 1.3% of Conning Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Conning Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $36,758,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ADP. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at $128,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 1,797 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $526,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. William Allan Corp raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. William Allan Corp now owns 21,368 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,255,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 53,637 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,701,000 after purchasing an additional 2,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at $26,723,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on ADP. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. TD Cowen boosted their target price 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $293.55.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total transaction of $305,322.05. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,756,961. This represents a 14.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total transaction of $704,869.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at $929,007.90. The trade was a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

ADP opened at $305.97 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $297.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $285.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $231.27 and a 1 year high of $311.67. The stock has a market cap of $124.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.91, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. Analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.23%.

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.