Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Stock Position Lowered by Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc.

Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. lowered its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 51.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 989 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,067 shares during the quarter. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $290,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of ADP. Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $640,712,000 after purchasing an additional 2,264,202 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $160,920,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 332.3% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 623,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $172,497,000 after purchasing an additional 479,145 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 2.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,334,580 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,098,541,000 after buying an additional 424,328 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 worth $2,906,257,000 after buying an additional 286,080 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total transaction of $305,322.05. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,961. This represents a 14.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total transaction of $704,869.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $929,007.90. The trade was a 43.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of ADP opened at $310.76 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $298.72 and its 200-day moving average is $290.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $126.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $313.72.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. Equities research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 64.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ADP. Mizuho increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of 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, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $293.55.

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.