Janus Henderson Group PLC Sells 21,444 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Janus Henderson Group PLC lowered its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,778,836 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 21,444 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $492,254,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hilltop Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 515.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 19,024 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,264,000 after purchasing an additional 15,932 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth about $160,920,000. Community Bank N.A. raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 12,027 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,328,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 1.3% during the third quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 20,134 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,572,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 1,628.9% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 196,922 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,509,000 after buying an additional 185,532 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total transaction of $2,479,748.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 36,741 shares in the company, valued at $9,899,862.45. This trade represents a 20.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $11,692,500.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 32,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,781,200. This represents a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.3 %

ADP stock opened at $306.03 on Tuesday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $227.12 and a fifty-two week high of $309.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $292.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $268.30.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.08 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This is a positive change from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 59.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $289.91.

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.