Highland Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Highland Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,962 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 90 shares during the quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $4,694,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 230.3% in the first quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC now owns 109 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ADP opened at $287.96 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $117.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $278.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $258.11. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $205.53 and a twelve month high of $294.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $4.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.74 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.54% and a return on equity of 89.20%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.89 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 10.04 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $282.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $275.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, CEO Maria Black sold 19,147 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total transaction of $5,253,553.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 92,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,464,384.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Automatic Data Processing news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total transaction of $2,479,748.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 36,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,899,862.45. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 19,147 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total value of $5,253,553.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 92,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,464,384.66. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 58,817 shares of company stock valued at $15,999,208. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.