Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,450 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 240 shares during the period. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,231,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 1,054 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,485 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,902,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 5,698 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,360,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Austin Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 923 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% in the second quarter. Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,645 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,302,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ADP opened at $304.73 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $284.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $261.82. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $225.38 and a fifty-two week high of $306.92. The company has a market capitalization of $124.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.08 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. This is a boost from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is presently 59.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ADP shares. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $289.91.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 10,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,816,946. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the director now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,816,946. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 97,792 shares of company stock valued at $27,691,708. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.