Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. Sells 1,500 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 40.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,201 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,500 shares during the quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $525,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlueSpruce Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 1st quarter worth about $365,757,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth approximately $308,321,000. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,543,317 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $825,487,000 after acquiring an additional 649,791 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 27.7% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,715,382 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $678,601,000 after acquiring an additional 589,831 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 238.1% during the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 784,003 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $195,797,000 after acquiring an additional 552,096 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of ADP stock opened at $279.41 on Wednesday. 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 fifty-two week low of $205.53 and a fifty-two week high of $281.54. The firm has a market cap of $114.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.79. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $262.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $250.94.

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

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is currently 62.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total transaction of $228,927.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total transaction of $2,479,748.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,899,862.45. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,816,946. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 58,817 shares of company stock worth $15,999,208 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.