WASHINGTON TRUST Co Sells 2,267 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

WASHINGTON TRUST Co trimmed its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 2.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 75,053 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,267 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing accounts for 0.9% of WASHINGTON TRUST Co's portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. WASHINGTON TRUST Co's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $22,931,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ADP. Main Street Group LTD raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 50.7% in the fourth quarter. Main Street Group LTD now owns 113 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 121.8% in the 4th quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 122 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 58.1% in the first quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 117 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Banque de Luxembourg S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on ADP. TD Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $298.00 to $321.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Mizuho upped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $321.00 to $332.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $323.00 to $315.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $307.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 478 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.14, for a total transaction of $140,120.92. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 7,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,158,682.96. This trade represents a 6.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 1.3%

NASDAQ ADP traded up $3.91 during trading on Thursday, reaching $308.96. 1,393,190 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,710,462. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $311.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $303.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market cap of $125.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 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 $329.93.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $5.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.49 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.79% and a return on equity of 77.33%. The firm's revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.88 EPS. Analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were given a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.05%.

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.