Alaska Permanent Fund Corp Sells 18,590 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Alaska Permanent Fund Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 31.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 40,538 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 18,590 shares during the quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $9,444,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. Heritage Investment Group Inc. increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Heritage Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,201 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $513,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 8,863 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,065,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 8,292 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,995,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,151 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $999,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 4,580 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

ADP traded down $0.47 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $246.14. 118,751 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,782,449. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.11 billion, a PE ratio of 28.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s 50-day moving average is $247.01 and its 200 day moving average is $239.26. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $201.46 and a 52 week high of $256.84.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 95.22%. The firm had revenue of $4.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.96 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.14 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.19%.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP David Kwon sold 863 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $215,750.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 8,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,071,250. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP David Kwon sold 863 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $215,750.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 8,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,071,250. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 368 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.01, for a total transaction of $90,899.68. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,018,996.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,162 shares of company stock worth $3,741,859 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ADP shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $267.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Bank of America raised shares of Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $217.00 to $243.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $254.58.

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.