Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Sold by Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co.

Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. cut its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 7,929 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 51 shares during the period. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $2,321,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,334,580 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,098,541,000 after purchasing an additional 424,328 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 2.8% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 12.0% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,065,308 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $964,989,000 after acquiring an additional 435,093 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.1% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,548,165 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $846,912,000 after acquiring an additional 139,561 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.3% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,238,526 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $896,197,000 after acquiring an additional 41,709 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at $4,027,233.98. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $11,692,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 32,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,781,200. This represents a 54.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 1.6 %

Automatic Data Processing stock traded down $4.56 during trading on Monday, hitting $287.13. The company had a trading volume of 1,527,417 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,004,607. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $298.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $277.08. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $231.27 and a 1-year high of $309.63. The stock has a market cap of $116.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.08 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. This is an increase from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays increased their price objective 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. UBS Group raised their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.