American Century Companies Inc. Sells 229,228 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

American Century Companies Inc. trimmed its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 27.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 609,389 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 229,228 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.15% of Automatic Data Processing worth $145,455,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. TD Asset Management Inc grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 801,857 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $200,256,000 after buying an additional 99,515 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 70.7% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 638,507 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $152,405,000 after purchasing an additional 264,466 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 195.1% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 51,607 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,888,000 after purchasing an additional 34,118 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 1st quarter worth $2,924,000. Finally, LVW Advisors LLC grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 23.8% in the 1st quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 3,854 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $962,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total value of $228,927.60. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 10,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,816,946. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total transaction of $228,927.60. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,816,946. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the company’s 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 $9,899,862.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 58,817 shares of company stock valued at $15,999,208 over the last 90 days. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented 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 report on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $265.36.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of ADP opened at $278.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $205.53 and a twelve month high of $279.58. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $259.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $250.38. The firm has a market cap of $113.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.07, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $4.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.74 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.54% and a return on equity of 89.20%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.89 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 10.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.50%.

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.