Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Sold by Phoenix Financial Ltd.

Phoenix Financial Ltd. decreased its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 7.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,037 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 88 shares during the period. Phoenix Financial Ltd.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $304,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,731,270 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $11,923,265,000 after purchasing an additional 277,324 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,583,607 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,098,305,000 after buying an additional 65,965 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,886,552 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,137,710,000 after acquiring an additional 219,032 shares during the period. Amundi raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 3,120,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $910,972,000 after purchasing an additional 449,431 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,321,849 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $679,675,000 after acquiring an additional 69,042 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ADP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $302.30.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ADP opened at $299.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $231.27 and a one year high of $322.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.23, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s fifty day moving average is $302.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $297.56.

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

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 473 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total value of $144,832.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 7,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,218,112.80. This trade represents a 6.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total value of $305,322.05. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 5,364 shares of company stock valued at $1,613,094. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Company Profile

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.