Brian L. Michaud Sells 362 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Stock

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.7 %

ADP stock opened at $291.69 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.85 billion, a PE ratio of 31.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a fifty day moving average of $298.43 and a 200-day moving average of $276.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $231.27 and a one year high of $309.63.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. The firm had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.08 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ADP. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,347 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,443,000 after purchasing an additional 929 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 39.5% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,495 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $438,000 after buying an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. IMPACTfolio LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 529,690 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $146,581,000 after acquiring an additional 22,766 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. now owns 3,796 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,050,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Citigroup lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $289.91.

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.