David Foskett Sells 1,004 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Stock

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) VP David Foskett sold 1,004 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.29, for a total value of $290,447.16. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,958 shares in the company, valued at $1,723,589.82. This represents a 14.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

NASDAQ ADP opened at $291.89 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $309.63. The business has a fifty day moving average of $298.43 and a 200-day moving average of $277.76. The stock has a market cap of $118.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the company posted $2.08 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ADP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Automatic Data Processing from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $289.91.

Institutional Trading of Automatic Data Processing

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Hawaiian Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 21.4% during the fourth quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 6,033 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,766,000 after purchasing an additional 1,063 shares during the last quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 5,775 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,691,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the period. InvesTrust acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth about $8,650,000. Innova Wealth Partners purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at about $234,000. Finally, Range Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 48.3% during the 4th quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 1,332 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $390,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.