Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Sold by America First Investment Advisors LLC

America First Investment Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 88,129 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 108 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing comprises 5.5% of America First Investment Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. America First Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $24,388,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in 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 buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Stifel Nicolaus increased 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 report on Thursday, August 1st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of ADP stock opened at $298.59 on Thursday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $227.12 and a 52 week high of $309.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.66 billion, a PE ratio of 31.87, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $288.47 and its 200-day moving average is $265.16.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. The firm had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.08 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This is a boost from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 59.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total transaction of $228,927.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 10,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,816,946. The trade was a 7.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total transaction of $7,164,724.32. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 88,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,959,908.96. The trade was a 23.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 97,792 shares of company stock valued at $27,691,708. 0.21% of the stock is currently 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.