Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Position Lowered by Key Financial Inc

Key Financial Inc reduced its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,525 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 211 shares during the quarter. Key Financial Inc’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $3,081,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 127,582 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,306,000 after buying an additional 3,456 shares during the last quarter. Veracity Capital LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter worth about $204,000. OLD National Bancorp IN boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 4.7% in the third quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 12,692 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,512,000 after acquiring an additional 567 shares during the period. Arlington Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 14.3% during the third quarter. Arlington Partners LLC now owns 14,664 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,058,000 after purchasing an additional 1,829 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bellecapital International Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.5% during the third quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. now owns 24,425 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,759,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

NASDAQ ADP opened at $308.15 on Tuesday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $231.27 and a 12 month high of $311.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.56 billion, a PE ratio of 32.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $297.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $288.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 64.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ADP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $293.55.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total value of $210,236.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 68,856 shares in the company, valued at $20,077,721.04. The trade was a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241. Corporate insiders own 0.21% 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.