Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Sold by Buttonwood Financial Advisors Inc.

Buttonwood Financial Advisors Inc. lessened its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,844 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 46 shares during the period. Buttonwood Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $540,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ADP. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,334,580 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,098,541,000 after acquiring an additional 424,328 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 286,080 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.3% in the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 41,709 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 4,431.5% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,315,295 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $640,712,000 after purchasing an additional 2,264,202 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,252,807 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $623,419,000 after purchasing an additional 17,717 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total value of $305,322.05. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,756,961. This trade represents a 14.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,077,721.04. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 42,129 shares of company stock valued at $12,604,872. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ADP shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com raised Automatic Data Processing from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 19th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned 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 an average target price of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.4 %

Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $297.10 on Monday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $309.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.79. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $297.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $282.77. 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 quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.08 EPS. Analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

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 issued a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.74%.

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.