Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Holdings Lowered by Sigma Planning Corp

Sigma Planning Corp reduced its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 57.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,668 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,863 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $855,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ADP. B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $234,000. Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 65.7% during the third quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,340 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,525,000 after acquiring an additional 2,513 shares during the period. KFG Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 11.6% during the third quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,835 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $682,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 10,832.1% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 3,061 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $736,000 after acquiring an additional 3,033 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.0% during the third quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 552,936 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $133,025,000 after acquiring an additional 5,310 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $267.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, February 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $217.00 to $243.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $254.58.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Don Mcguire sold 11,333 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $2,776,585.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 19,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,876,970. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, VP Don Mcguire sold 11,333 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $2,776,585.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 19,906 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,876,970. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP David Kwon sold 863 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $215,750.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,071,250. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 15,162 shares of company stock valued at $3,741,859. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

ADP stock opened at $246.84 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market capitalization of $101.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.78. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $201.46 and a 12 month high of $256.84. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $247.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $239.21.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $4.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.65 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 95.22%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.96 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.19%.

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.