Capital Investment Counsel Inc Sells 285 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Capital Investment Counsel Inc cut its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,196 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 285 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing makes up approximately 0.7% of Capital Investment Counsel Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Capital Investment Counsel Inc’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $4,448,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,334,580 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,098,541,000 after purchasing an additional 424,328 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,517,642 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,906,257,000 after purchasing an additional 286,080 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 1.3% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,238,526 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $896,197,000 after acquiring an additional 41,709 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 4,431.5% during 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 period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 0.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,252,807 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $623,419,000 after acquiring an additional 17,717 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $311.97 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $127.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.53, a PEG ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $231.27 and a 12-month high of $313.72. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $298.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $289.74.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. On average, analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total value of $704,869.20. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $929,007.90. This trade represents a 43.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total transaction of $210,236.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 68,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,077,721.04. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ADP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho raised 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 report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $293.55.

Automatic Data Processing Profile

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.