Dearborn Partners LLC Sells 95 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Dearborn Partners LLC reduced its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 255,974 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 95 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing makes up 3.1% of Dearborn Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $74,931,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.4% in the 3rd 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 boosted its holdings 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 worth $2,906,257,000 after buying an additional 286,080 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 3,120,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $910,972,000 after acquiring an additional 449,431 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,321,849 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $679,675,000 after acquiring an additional 69,042 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total transaction of $210,236.39. Following the completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at $4,027,233.98. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ADP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.18.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of ADP opened at $302.99 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $123.46 billion, a PE ratio of 31.59, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $302.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $294.17. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.27 and a twelve month high of $322.84.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given 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 2.03%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

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.