GTS Securities LLC Decreases Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

GTS Securities LLC lessened its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 97.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,631 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 52,560 shares during the quarter. GTS Securities LLC's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $477,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 92.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,026 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,935,000 after purchasing an additional 4,808 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 4,801 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,405,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 2,693 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $788,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,344 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,309,000 after acquiring an additional 1,417 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth about $1,721,000. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of ADP stock traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $324.12. 921,682 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,701,614. The firm has a market cap of $131.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $327.99. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $302.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $301.50.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.09. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. The company had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.49 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.88 EPS. Automatic Data Processing's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities 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 issued a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ADP shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $305.64.

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.