Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Sold by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp cut its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 12.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 259,464 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 35,969 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $75,953,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ADP. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $708,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 280,961 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $77,750,000 after buying an additional 15,340 shares in the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at $951,000. Bath Savings Trust Co increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 99,299 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,068,000 after acquiring an additional 1,951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 4.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 529,690 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $146,581,000 after acquiring an additional 22,766 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Automatic Data Processing news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total transaction of $210,236.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 68,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,077,721.04. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP David Foskett sold 1,004 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.29, for a total transaction of $290,447.16. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,723,589.82. This trade represents a 14.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 5,951 shares of company stock worth $1,762,074. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ADP. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.18.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of ADP opened at $299.38 on Wednesday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $231.27 and a 52-week high of $322.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $303.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $295.91. The company has a market capitalization of $121.98 billion, a PE ratio of 31.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.23%.

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.