City Holding Co. Lowers Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

City Holding Co. lessened its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,763 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,457 shares during the period. City Holding Co.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $4,915,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 230.3% during the first quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC now owns 109 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total value of $7,164,724.32. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 88,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,959,908.96. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total value of $7,164,724.32. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 88,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,959,908.96. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total transaction of $2,479,748.35. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 36,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,899,862.45. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 58,817 shares of company stock worth $15,999,208. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ:ADP opened at $285.42 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $271.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $254.30. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $205.53 and a 1-year high of $286.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $116.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.85, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 89.20% and a net margin of 19.54%. The firm had revenue of $4.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.89 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 10.04 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ADP shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $267.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America upped their target price on 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, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $267.83.

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.