Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Sells 5,091 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund decreased its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 29.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,958 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 5,091 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $3,654,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,731,270 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $11,923,265,000 after buying an additional 277,324 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,583,607 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,098,305,000 after buying an additional 65,965 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,174,419 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,807,438,000 after buying an additional 902,354 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 26.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,136,763 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,796,415,000 after buying an additional 1,299,390 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,886,552 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,137,710,000 after buying an additional 219,032 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 4.2%

Shares of NASDAQ ADP traded down $13.21 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $298.19. The stock had a trading volume of 2,354,909 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,718,678. The business's 50 day moving average is $310.05 and its 200-day moving average is $303.05. The company has a market cap of $121.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.52, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $231.27 and a 52 week high of $329.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.49 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.79% and a return on equity of 77.33%. The business's revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.88 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.05%.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,364 shares in the company, valued at $2,158,682.96. The trade was a 6.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ADP. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. TD Securities upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $298.00 to $321.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $323.00 to $315.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $307.08.

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.