Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 7.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,336 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 257 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $977,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at about $708,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 280,961 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $77,750,000 after buying an additional 15,340 shares in the last quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 99,299 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,068,000 after buying an additional 1,951 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 529,690 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $146,581,000 after buying an additional 22,766 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 8.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 667,068 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $194,117,000 after acquiring an additional 51,828 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 473 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total transaction of $144,832.60. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 7,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,218,112.80. The trade was a 6.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,951 shares of company stock worth $1,762,074 over the last 90 days. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 1.5 %

NASDAQ ADP opened at $300.83 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $122.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $322.84. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $303.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $296.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. On average, analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 64.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ADP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $302.30.

Automatic Data Processing 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.