Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) CEO Maria Black Sells 721 Shares

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,856 shares in the company, valued at $20,077,721.04. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 1.2 %

ADP stock opened at $291.89 on Thursday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $309.63. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $298.43 and a 200-day moving average of $277.76. The company has a market capitalization of $118.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.15, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. The firm had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.08 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. This is a boost from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is presently 65.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on ADP. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $289.91.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Automatic Data Processing

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ADP. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 3.4% in the third quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 1,054 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $482,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% during the third quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,485 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,902,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% in the second quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 5,698 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,360,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Austin Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.4% in the third quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 923 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% 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.