Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Sold by Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC reduced its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 52,236 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 209 shares during the period. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $12,169,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gallacher Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 1,223 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,403 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,492,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 19.8% in the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 1,107 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 60.4% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 638,487 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $149,038,000 after purchasing an additional 240,524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FourThought Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC now owns 5,209 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,214,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ ADP traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $241.89. 1,491,532 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,451,137. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market cap of $99.37 billion, a PE ratio of 27.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s fifty day moving average is $245.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $238.95. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $205.53 and a fifty-two week high of $256.84.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $2.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.79 by $0.09. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 93.09% and a net margin of 19.56%. The company had revenue of $5.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.52 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is currently 62.50%.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Joseph Desilva sold 1,904 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total value of $485,520.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 17,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,380,645. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Joseph Desilva sold 1,904 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total value of $485,520.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 17,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,380,645. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 368 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.01, for a total transaction of $90,899.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,018,996.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,829 shares of company stock worth $965,274 in the last ninety days. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ADP shares. Bank of America raised Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $217.00 to $243.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $253.00 to $251.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $254.00 to $250.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $255.42.

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.