Peoples Financial Services CORP. Has $809,000 Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Peoples Financial Services CORP. trimmed its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 6.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,765 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 203 shares during the quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $809,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ ADP opened at $291.69 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $298.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $279.35. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $231.27 and a one year high of $309.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $2.08 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. This is a boost from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total value of $305,322.05. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,756,961. This trade represents a 14.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total value of $210,236.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,077,721.04. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 42,129 shares of company stock valued at $12,604,872 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ADP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $289.91.

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.