Tranquility Partners LLC Trims Stock Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Tranquility Partners LLC trimmed its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,146 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 85 shares during the period. Tranquility Partners LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,147,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ADP. Caprock Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 21,450 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,965,000 after buying an additional 803 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 86,808 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $24,051,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. now owns 7,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,056,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 12,351 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,418,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,561 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $432,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ:ADP opened at $297.89 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The business 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 one year low of $227.12 and a one year high of $309.37.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.08 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 EPS 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. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. This is an increase from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of Automatic Data Processing 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 32,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,781,200. The trade was a 54.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 36,741 shares in the company, valued at $9,899,862.45. This represents a 20.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 97,792 shares of company stock worth $27,691,708. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ADP shares. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two investment 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $289.91.

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.