Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Sells 2,900 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 61,102 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,900 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $14,235,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 34.7% during the third quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 159 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 8,863 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,065,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 8,292 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,995,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Signet Financial Management LLC lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 3,587 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $857,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schechter Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.1% in the third quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,151 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $999,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Don Mcguire sold 11,333 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total value of $2,776,585.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 19,906 shares in the company, valued at $4,876,970. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, VP Don Mcguire sold 11,333 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $2,776,585.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 19,906 shares in the company, valued at $4,876,970. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP David Kwon sold 863 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $215,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,071,250. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 15,162 shares of company stock worth $3,741,859. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on ADP. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Wolfe Research upgraded Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $267.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $254.58.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of ADP opened at $242.90 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $247.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $239.18. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $201.46 and a 1-year high of $256.84. The company has a market cap of $99.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.28, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.78.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 95.22%. The company had revenue of $4.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.96 EPS. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 65.19%.

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.