Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Sold by Plimoth Trust Co. LLC

Plimoth Trust Co. LLC lowered its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,059 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 55 shares during the period. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,188,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Invesco LLC lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 6,045 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,770,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 236,457 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $69,218,000 after buying an additional 1,521 shares in the last quarter. Nvest Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 28.1% during the 4th quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 4,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,176,000 after buying an additional 880 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 279,327 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $81,767,000 after buying an additional 14,161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $158,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 3.9 %

Automatic Data Processing stock traded up $11.49 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $309.80. 409,674 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,595,512. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $297.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $283.65. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $231.27 and a 12-month high of $311.67. The firm has a market cap of $126.23 billion, a PE ratio of 33.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. Research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total value of $305,322.05. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,756,961. The trade was a 14.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total value of $210,236.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,077,721.04. The trade was a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 42,129 shares of company stock valued at $12,604,872 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on ADP shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective 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. UBS Group increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on 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. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing 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.