Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 4,303 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 121,542 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,303 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $35,679,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 1.0 %

ADP stock opened at $298.79 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $121.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $322.84. The business has a 50-day moving average of $302.80 and a 200-day moving average of $295.07.

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

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on ADP. UBS Group increased 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.18.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the company’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 sale, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 473 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,218,112.80. This 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. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.