CCLA Investment Management Decreases Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

CCLA Investment Management reduced its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,773 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 713 shares during the period. CCLA Investment Management’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $4,003,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ADP. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 105.2% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $467,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth approximately $308,321,000. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 22.6% during the 4th quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 5,231 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,219,000 after buying an additional 966 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 539,551 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $125,704,000 after acquiring an additional 3,666 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at $793,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ADP shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $267.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $282.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, 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 research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $265.36.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total value of $228,927.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,816,946. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 88,426 shares in the company, valued at $23,959,908.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total value of $228,927.60. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,816,946. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 58,817 shares of company stock valued at $15,999,208. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 0.3 %

ADP opened at $279.41 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $262.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $250.94. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $205.53 and a 1-year high of $281.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

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 firm had revenue of $4.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.74 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 89.20% and a net margin of 19.54%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.89 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 10.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.