Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Sold by Mizuho Securities USA LLC

Mizuho Securities USA LLC decreased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 26,443 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5,117 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $7,318,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 11.0% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 75,556 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $20,909,000 after acquiring an additional 7,477 shares during the period. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter valued at $209,000. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 3.1% during the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 571,969 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $158,281,000 after acquiring an additional 16,987 shares during the period. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 131.6% during the third quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 11,351 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,141,000 after acquiring an additional 6,450 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 24.2% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 75,950 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $21,018,000 after acquiring an additional 14,813 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of ADP opened at $298.59 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $288.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $265.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $227.12 and a 1-year high of $309.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. The firm had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.08 EPS. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This is a positive change from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ADP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $289.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $11,692,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 32,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,781,200. The trade was a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the business’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 value of $228,927.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 10,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,816,946. This trade represents a 7.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 97,792 shares of company stock worth $27,691,708. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Automatic Data Processing

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.