Synovus Financial Corp Decreases Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Synovus Financial Corp decreased its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 6.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 60,746 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,223 shares during the quarter. Synovus Financial Corp’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $16,810,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of ADP. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 220.4% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 46,379 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,834,000 after acquiring an additional 31,904 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 22.6% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,466 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,066,000 after purchasing an additional 1,378 shares during the period. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 9,935 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,753,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 15,384 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,257,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares during the period. Finally, Tudor Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter worth about $310,000. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $11,692,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares in the company, valued at $9,781,200. This trade represents a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ADP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of ADP stock opened at $298.75 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $296.79 and its 200 day moving average is $271.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market cap of $121.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.88, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $227.12 and a 52-week high of $309.63.

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

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

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

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.