Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Lowers Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lessened its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 997,785 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 33,137 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing accounts for approximately 1.4% of Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned approximately 0.24% of Automatic Data Processing worth $232,454,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of ADP. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 10,832.1% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 3,061 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $736,000 after acquiring an additional 3,033 shares during the period. Strategic Blueprint LLC lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 18.0% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 3,835 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $923,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 6,779 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,639,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,038 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $508,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, CX Institutional lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 283.6% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 17,892 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,304,000 after acquiring an additional 13,228 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 1.3 %

Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $243.07 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $246.70 and a 200 day moving average of $239.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.78. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $205.53 and a 12-month high of $256.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $4.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.65 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.96 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the company 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 price target for the company from $217.00 to $243.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. 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. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $267.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $254.58.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,018,996.19. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, VP Joseph Desilva sold 1,904 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total transaction of $485,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 17,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,380,645. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 value of $90,899.68. Following the transaction, the vice president now 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 sold a total of 15,162 shares of company stock valued at $3,741,859 in the last three months. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Automatic Data Processing 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.