Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. trimmed its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 2.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 48,542 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,408 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.'s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $14,831,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ADP. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 92.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,026 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,935,000 after acquiring an additional 4,808 shares during the period. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 5,048 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,478,000 after acquiring an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,410 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $413,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 41,150 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $11,919,000 after acquiring an additional 5,803 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 133,816 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $39,172,000 after buying an additional 2,862 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of ADP traded down $2.93 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $306.82. The stock had a trading volume of 2,021,642 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,705,704. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $308.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $302.91. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $329.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.99, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.09. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. The firm had revenue of $5.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.88 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total transaction of $458,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 12,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,686,852.74. This represents a 11.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 478 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 7,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,158,682.96. The trade was a 6.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ADP has been the subject of several research reports. TD Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $298.00 to $321.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $321.00 to $332.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $323.00 to $315.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, June 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $306.82.

Automatic Data Processing 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.