Prudential Financial Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Prudential Financial Inc. reduced its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 28.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 306,849 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 122,695 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.08% of Automatic Data Processing worth $89,824,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth approximately $342,942,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 41,710.7% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,090,422 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $319,199,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087,814 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter valued at $160,920,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 332.3% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 3,120,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $910,972,000 after buying an additional 449,431 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ADP opened at $298.89 on Tuesday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $231.27 and a 1 year high of $322.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s 50-day moving average is $303.26 and its 200 day moving average is $295.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 473 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total value of $144,832.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,244 shares in the company, valued at $2,218,112.80. This trade represents a 6.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,951 shares of company stock worth $1,762,074 in the last three months. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ADP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.18.

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.