Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators Reduces Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators trimmed its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 6.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 82 shares during the quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators’ holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $357,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter worth $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter worth about $35,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Automatic Data Processing news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,077,721.04. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total transaction of $305,322.05. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,961. This trade represents a 14.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241 in the last ninety days. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $310.76 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $126.62 billion, a PE ratio of 32.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $298.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $290.11. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $231.27 and a one year high of $313.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. Research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 64.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on ADP shares. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $293.55.

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.