Benson Investment Management Company Inc. Lowers Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Benson Investment Management Company Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,847 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 75 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing accounts for 2.3% of Benson Investment Management Company Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Benson Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $5,517,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% during the third 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. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $11,692,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 32,604 shares in the company, valued at $9,781,200. This represents a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 41,062 shares of company stock worth $12,299,550. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ ADP opened at $290.20 on Tuesday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $231.27 and a 52-week high of $309.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.97, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $298.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $278.98. 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 the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. The business had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.08 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect 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 given a dividend of $1.54 per share. This is an increase 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 2.12%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target 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 raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $289.91.

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.