Argus Investors Counsel Inc. Sells 1,291 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. lowered its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 25.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,704 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,291 shares during the quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,025,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% during the third 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 period. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% in the second quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 5,698 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,360,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in 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 worth $2,302,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 22.1% in the third quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 221 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Confluence Wealth Services Inc. grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 5.0% in the second quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 863 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $206,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Automatic Data Processing stock traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $291.20. 195,197 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,626,274. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a 50 day moving average of $277.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $257.33. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $205.53 and a 12 month high of $294.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $4.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.74 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.54% and a return on equity of 89.20%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.50%.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, CEO Maria Black sold 19,147 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total transaction of $5,253,553.86. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 92,807 shares in the company, valued at $25,464,384.66. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total value of $7,164,724.32. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 88,426 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,959,908.96. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 19,147 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total transaction of $5,253,553.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 92,807 shares in the company, valued at $25,464,384.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 58,817 shares of company stock worth $15,999,208 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ADP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $267.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America upped their price objective 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 upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $275.33.

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.