Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) CEO Maria Black Sells 721 Shares

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total value of $210,236.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,856 shares in the company, valued at $20,077,721.04. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of ADP stock traded down $4.56 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $287.13. The company had a trading volume of 1,529,137 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,199,546. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $116.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.64, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $231.27 and a 12 month high of $309.63. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $298.43 and its 200 day moving average is $277.08.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.08 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. This is an increase from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ADP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho raised 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, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $289.91.

Institutional Trading of Automatic Data Processing

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.