Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Stake Reduced by Commerce Bank

Commerce Bank trimmed its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 112,674 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 347 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $32,983,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ADP. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,731,270 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,923,265,000 after purchasing an additional 277,324 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,583,607 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,098,305,000 after buying an additional 65,965 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,886,552 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,137,710,000 after acquiring an additional 219,032 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 3,120,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $910,972,000 after acquiring an additional 449,431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,321,849 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $679,675,000 after acquiring an additional 69,042 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total value of $458,070.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,686,852.74. This represents a 11.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 473 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total transaction of $144,832.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,218,112.80. The trade was a 6.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,775 shares of company stock worth $1,447,893. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ADP. StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $302.30.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $293.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a market cap of $119.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.74. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $322.84. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $301.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $298.11.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

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.