Fiduciary Trust Co Trims Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Fiduciary Trust Co trimmed its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 102,517 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,100 shares during the period. Fiduciary Trust Co’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $30,010,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 121.8% during the fourth quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 122 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Banque de Luxembourg S.A. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ADP. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $296.00 to $298.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $303.55.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 473 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total value of $144,832.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,244 shares in the company, valued at $2,218,112.80. The trade was a 6.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total value of $458,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 12,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,686,852.74. The trade was a 11.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,451 shares of company stock valued at $743,024 over the last 90 days. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

ADP stock opened at $307.09 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $297.45 and its 200-day moving average is $299.06. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $231.27 and a 1 year high of $322.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.65 billion, a PE ratio of 32.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.09. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. The business had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.88 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is presently 63.05%.

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.