Advisory Alpha LLC Has $327,000 Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Advisory Alpha LLC lowered its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 44.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,069 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 849 shares during the quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $327,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ADP. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $708,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 155,934 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $45,647,000 after purchasing an additional 2,787 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 248.8% during the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 38,448 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $11,255,000 after purchasing an additional 27,424 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 236,707 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $69,290,000 after purchasing an additional 21,910 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1,344.1% during the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 16,665 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,878,000 after buying an additional 15,511 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. TD Securities raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $298.00 to $321.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $305.64.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 478 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.14, for a total transaction of $140,120.92. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 7,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,158,682.96. This represents a 6.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total value of $458,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,686,852.74. This trade represents a 11.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,451 shares of company stock worth $743,024. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Automatic Data Processing stock traded up $0.73 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $326.53. The company had a trading volume of 2,155,834 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,704,001. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $304.21 and a 200 day moving average of $301.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $132.55 billion, a PE ratio of 34.05, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $231.27 and a one year high of $327.99.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.49 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.88 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. Automatic Data Processing's payout ratio is presently 63.05%.

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.