Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Sold by Ninety One North America Inc.

Ninety One North America Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 142,405 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 7,366 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing makes up about 2.6% of Ninety One North America Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Ninety One North America Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $41,686,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 18,559 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,433,000 after acquiring an additional 2,040 shares during the period. Newton One Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 34.7% during the fourth quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 4,106 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,202,000 after acquiring an additional 1,057 shares during the period. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 24.3% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 1,390 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $407,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the period. Finally, Rockline Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Rockline Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,905,000 after acquiring an additional 637 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $304.63 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market cap of $124.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.82, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $231.27 and a 52 week high of $311.67. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $297.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $284.84.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. Research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 64.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group increased their target price 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 reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $293.55.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total value of $210,236.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,077,721.04. The trade was a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of Automatic Data Processing 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 32,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,781,200. The trade was a 54.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 42,129 shares of company stock valued at $12,604,872 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.