Ascent Wealth Partners LLC Has $14.09 Million Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Ascent Wealth Partners LLC lessened its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 50,927 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 460 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing accounts for approximately 2.0% of Ascent Wealth Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $14,093,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings 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 valued at $200,256,000 after acquiring an additional 99,515 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 70.7% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 638,507 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $152,405,000 after acquiring an additional 264,466 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 195.1% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 51,607 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,888,000 after acquiring an additional 34,118 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.7% during the first quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 247,474 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $61,804,000 after acquiring an additional 4,253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 23.8% during the second quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 26,610 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,352,000 after acquiring an additional 5,114 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, CEO Maria Black sold 19,147 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 92,807 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,464,384.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 88,426 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 19,147 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 92,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ADP. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP traded down $0.48 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $304.70. 4,277 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,630,002. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $223.28 and a 1 year high of $306.71. The company has a market cap of $124.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.57, a PEG ratio of 3.35 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. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $282.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $261.11.

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

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. 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 presently 59.77%.

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.