Spinnaker Trust Trims Stock Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Spinnaker Trust reduced its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 23,209 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 40 shares during the period. Spinnaker Trust’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $6,423,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ADP. BlueSpruce Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the first quarter valued at approximately $365,757,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 28,478.6% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,194,587 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,305,780,000 after acquiring an additional 1,190,407 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 238.1% during the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 784,003 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $195,797,000 after acquiring an additional 552,096 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 242.4% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 644,135 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $153,749,000 after purchasing an additional 456,027 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 12.0% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,065,308 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $964,989,000 after purchasing an additional 435,093 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 4.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ ADP traded up $12.02 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $303.20. The company had a trading volume of 530,161 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,626,684. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $219.21 and a 52-week high of $304.43. The stock has a market cap of $123.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.08, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $282.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $260.80.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.08 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. This is a positive change from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ADP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $289.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total value of $2,479,748.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 36,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,899,862.45. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Automatic Data Processing news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total value of $2,479,748.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,741 shares in the company, valued at $9,899,862.45. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total value of $228,927.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,410 shares in the company, valued at $2,816,946. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 58,817 shares of company stock valued at $15,999,208. Company 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.