Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Sold by Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,488 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $965,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Foundation Advisors raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 14.8% during the first quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 1,536 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $384,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,956 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $489,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 39,658 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,904,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Rodgers & Associates LTD purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the first quarter valued at about $200,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 48.7% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 307,433 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $76,757,000 after buying an additional 100,739 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $11,692,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,781,200. This represents a 54.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total value of $228,927.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,816,946. This trade represents a 7.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 97,792 shares of company stock valued at $27,691,708. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of ADP opened at $297.64 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $121.28 billion, a PE ratio of 31.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $227.12 and a one year high of $309.37. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $287.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $263.87.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted 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 return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. The business had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.08 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 59.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ADP shares. TD Cowen boosted their price target 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. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Mizuho increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $289.91.

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.