Rockland Trust Co. Has $21.35 Million Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Rockland Trust Co. trimmed its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 2.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 69,873 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,896 shares during the quarter. Rockland Trust Co.'s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $21,348,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock traded down $2.93 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $306.82. The company had a trading volume of 2,021,642 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,705,702. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $231.27 and a 1-year high of $329.93. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $307.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $302.92. The stock has a market cap of $124.55 billion, a PE ratio of 31.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. The company had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.49 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.88 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total value of $458,070.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,686,852.74. This represents a 11.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 478 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 7,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,158,682.96. This trade represents a 6.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ADP. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. TD Securities raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $298.00 to $321.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. UBS Group decreased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $323.00 to $315.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. 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. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $321.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $306.82.

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.