Argent Capital Management LLC Reduces Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Argent Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 98,442 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,867 shares during the period. Argent Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $28,817,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in 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 worth $5,098,541,000 after buying an additional 424,328 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.8% during 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 buying an additional 286,080 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 12.0% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,065,308 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $964,989,000 after buying an additional 435,093 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.1% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,548,165 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $846,912,000 after buying an additional 139,561 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted 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 valued at $896,197,000 after purchasing an additional 41,709 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ADP opened at $293.37 on Thursday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.27 and a twelve month high of $309.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.31, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $298.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $279.35.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.08 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $289.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $11,692,500.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares in the company, valued at $9,781,200. The trade was a 54.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total transaction of $305,322.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,961. This represents a 14.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 42,129 shares of company stock valued at $12,604,872 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Company 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.