Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Sells 3,541 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 23.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 11,885 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,541 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $3,289,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Foundation Advisors increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 14.8% during the first quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 1,536 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $384,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the period. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 9.3% during the first quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,956 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $489,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 3.9% during the first quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 39,658 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,904,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Rodgers & Associates LTD acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the first quarter worth about $200,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 48.7% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 307,433 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $76,757,000 after buying an additional 100,739 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ADP shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective 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. Barclays raised 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 note on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen raised their price target 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. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Two 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.com, Automatic Data Processing presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 1.4 %

NASDAQ:ADP opened at $297.64 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $286.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $263.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $227.12 and a one year high of $309.37. The company has a market cap of $121.28 billion, a PE ratio of 31.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 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 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.77 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.08 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. This is a positive change from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $11,692,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,781,200. This trade represents a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total transaction of $228,927.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,816,946. The trade was a 7.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 97,792 shares of company stock worth $27,691,708. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.