Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) is Wendell David Associates Inc.’s 4th Largest Position

Wendell David Associates Inc. cut its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 185,653 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,345 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing makes up about 5.4% of Wendell David Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Wendell David Associates Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $54,346,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter valued at about $209,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 280,961 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $77,750,000 after purchasing an additional 15,340 shares during the last quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $470,000. Dash Acquisitions Inc. lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 5.6% in the third quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. now owns 52,329 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,069,000 after purchasing an additional 2,781 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DRW Securities LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter valued at $951,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

ADP stock opened at $296.36 on Thursday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $231.27 and a one year high of $309.63. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $297.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $281.46. The stock has a market cap of $120.75 billion, a PE ratio of 31.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.79. 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 (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.08 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ADP shares. UBS Group upped their price target on 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 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Mizuho lifted their target price 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. Citigroup upped 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $289.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $11,692,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,781,200. This represents a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 42,129 shares of company stock valued at $12,604,872 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.