Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Sells 16,220 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. lessened its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 59.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,193 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 16,220 shares during the quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $3,277,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. McAdam LLC raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 2,036 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at about $225,000. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 29.8% in the fourth quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,435 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,591,000 after purchasing an additional 1,249 shares in the last quarter. Avantra Family Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at about $509,000. Finally, Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC now owns 51,840 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,175,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on ADP shares. Barclays boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $291.27.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 32,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,781,200. This represents a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $305,322.05. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,756,961. The trade was a 14.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 42,129 shares of company stock valued at $12,604,872 over the last ninety days. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of ADP stock opened at $303.01 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $297.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $284.59. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $231.27 and a one year high of $311.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.46 billion, a PE ratio of 31.60, a PEG ratio of 3.50 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.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 81.85% and a net margin of 19.76%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 64.23%.

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.