Clearstead Trust LLC Decreases Stock Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Clearstead Trust LLC lessened its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,396 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,873 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing comprises about 1.7% of Clearstead Trust LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Clearstead Trust LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $6,382,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 22,539.4% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 934,326 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $217,670,000 after purchasing an additional 930,199 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 40.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,128,701 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $752,703,000 after acquiring an additional 905,043 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 65.5% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,402,511 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $337,416,000 after acquiring an additional 555,184 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 18.3% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,576,575 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $855,287,000 after acquiring an additional 553,946 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter valued at $107,401,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ ADP traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $241.89. The stock had a trading volume of 1,491,532 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,451,137. The business’s 50 day moving average is $245.63 and its 200-day moving average is $239.08. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $205.53 and a 52 week high of $256.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a market cap of $99.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.00, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.78.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.79 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $5.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 93.09% and a net margin of 19.56%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.52 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.15 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $254.00 to $250.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Bank of America upgraded Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $217.00 to $243.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $267.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $255.42.

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.