First Western Trust Bank Lowers Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

First Western Trust Bank lowered its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 3.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,937 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 111 shares during the period. First Western Trust Bank’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $701,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% in the 2nd 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 purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 863 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $206,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 5,254 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,224,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 5,581 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,402,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patron Partners LLC increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 2,733 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $683,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on ADP shares. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $267.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $282.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $265.36.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of ADP stock opened at $270.17 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $255.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $249.62. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $205.53 and a 1-year high of $278.24. The firm has a market cap of $110.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.15, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.78.

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

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.50%.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 88,426 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,959,908.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 88,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,959,908.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 19,147 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 92,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,464,384.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,614 shares of company stock worth $13,519,460 in the last three months. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Company Profile

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.