BLB&B Advisors LLC Reduces Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

BLB&B Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 2.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 18,460 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 471 shares during the quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $5,109,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 14.2% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 801,857 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $200,256,000 after purchasing an additional 99,515 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 70.7% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 638,507 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $152,405,000 after buying an additional 264,466 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 195.1% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 51,607 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,888,000 after buying an additional 34,118 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 1st quarter worth about $2,924,000. Finally, LVW Advisors LLC grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 23.8% in the 1st quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 3,854 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $962,000 after acquiring an additional 740 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ADP opened at $291.34 on Wednesday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $205.53 and a fifty-two week high of $294.18. The company has a market cap of $119.24 billion, a PE ratio of 32.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $277.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $257.66.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $4.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.74 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.54% and a return on equity of 89.20%. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.89 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 10.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is presently 62.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total value of $7,164,724.32. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 88,426 shares in the company, valued at $23,959,908.96. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total transaction of $7,164,724.32. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 88,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,959,908.96. This trade 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 this link. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 19,147 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total value of $5,253,553.86. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 92,807 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,464,384.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 58,817 shares of company stock worth $15,999,208. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ADP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $282.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective 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. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.