Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) VP Christopher D’ambrosio Sells 473 Shares

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 473 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total transaction of $144,832.60. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,218,112.80. This trade represents a 6.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

NASDAQ ADP traded up $1.74 on Wednesday, reaching $294.18. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,951,150 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,505,898. The firm has a market cap of $119.87 billion, a PE ratio of 30.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $231.27 and a 52 week high of $322.84. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $302.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $294.33.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. Sell-side analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 64.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on ADP shares. Barclays upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group boosted their target price 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. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.18.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Automatic Data Processing

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth about $708,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.8% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 280,961 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $77,750,000 after purchasing an additional 15,340 shares during the last quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at approximately $470,000. DRW Securities LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $951,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 51.1% during the 3rd quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 18,925 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,236,000 after buying an additional 6,399 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.