Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Sells 736 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lessened its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 21,659 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 736 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $5,046,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ADP. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Evolution Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 106.0% in the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 173 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Bfsg LLC acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Vestor Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ:ADP traded down $2.59 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $248.90. 973,940 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,279,904. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $205.53 and a one year high of $256.84. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $246.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $241.31.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.79 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $5.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 93.09% and a net margin of 19.56%. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is currently 62.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ADP shares. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Barclays increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $280.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $254.00 to $250.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Mizuho increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $255.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 368 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.01, for a total value of $90,899.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,018,996.19. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.26% 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.