New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 6,653 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 579,885 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 6,653 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $169,750,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Community Financial Services Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.0% during the third quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 7,225 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,999,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,452 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $402,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,529 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,253,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Home Federal Bank of Tennessee raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.4% during the third quarter. Home Federal Bank of Tennessee now owns 10,839 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,999,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rodgers & Associates LTD bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter valued at approximately $223,000. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ADP shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen raised their price objective 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. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $293.55.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 0.6 %

Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $309.89 on Wednesday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $231.27 and a 1 year high of $311.67. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $297.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $289.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market cap of $126.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.31, a PEG ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. On average, equities analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is presently 64.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total value of $704,869.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $929,007.90. This trade represents a 43.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total transaction of $210,236.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 68,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,077,721.04. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241 in the last quarter. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.