Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Sold by Everence Capital Management Inc.

Everence Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 42.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,850 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 7,300 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $2,883,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 4,431.5% in the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,315,295 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $640,712,000 after acquiring an additional 2,264,202 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 28,478.6% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,194,587 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,305,780,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190,407 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth $160,920,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 332.3% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 623,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $172,497,000 after purchasing an additional 479,145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 242.4% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 644,135 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $153,749,000 after buying an additional 456,027 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen increased 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 report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $289.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 32,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,781,200. This represents a 54.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

NASDAQ ADP traded up $2.15 during trading on Friday, reaching $291.80. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 224,807 shares, compared to its average volume of 613,059. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $298.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $276.30. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.27 and a twelve month high of $309.63. 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 firm has a market cap of $118.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. The firm had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.08 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This is a boost from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is 65.74%.

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.