Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Sold by Commerce Bank

Commerce Bank trimmed its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 113,021 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,104 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $31,276,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position in 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 valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ADP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target 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 lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $289.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total transaction of $228,927.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,816,946. The trade was a 7.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 19,147 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 92,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,464,384.66. The trade was a 17.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 97,792 shares of company stock valued at $27,691,708. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $298.59 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $288.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $265.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $227.12 and a 12-month high of $309.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.08 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share 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 dividend of $1.54 per share. This is a boost from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is currently 59.77%.

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.