PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lessened its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,250,303 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,678 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $345,996,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 70.7% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 638,507 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $152,405,000 after buying an additional 264,466 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 1.7% in the first quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 247,474 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $61,804,000 after purchasing an additional 4,253 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 23.8% during the second quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 26,610 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,352,000 after purchasing an additional 5,114 shares in the last quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter valued at $209,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 2,917.1% during the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 4,224 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $997,000 after buying an additional 4,084 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ADP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $297.89 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $121.38 billion, a PE ratio of 31.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $287.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $264.53. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $227.12 and a 1 year high of $309.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.08 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. This is a positive change from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 59.77%.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $11,692,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,781,200. This represents a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total value of $2,479,748.35. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,899,862.45. The trade was a 20.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 97,792 shares of company stock worth $27,691,708 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

About Automatic Data Processing

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.