Metis Global Partners LLC Sells 954 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Metis Global Partners LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 20,432 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 954 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $4,760,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Heritage Investment Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Heritage Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,201 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $513,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 8,863 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,065,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 1.1% during the third quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,151 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $999,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Simon Quick Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 4,580 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,067,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 6,886 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,657,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on ADP shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $267.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $254.00 to $250.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $253.00 to $251.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $255.42.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP David Kwon sold 863 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $215,750.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,071,250. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Joseph Desilva sold 1,904 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total transaction of $485,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 17,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,380,645. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP David Kwon sold 863 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $215,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,285 shares in the company, valued at $2,071,250. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,829 shares of company stock worth $965,274. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ADP traded up $0.85 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $242.74. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,105,902 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,788,061. The firm has a market cap of $99.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.78. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $205.53 and a 1-year high of $256.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $245.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $238.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $2.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.79 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $5.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 93.09% and a net margin of 19.56%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.52 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.50%.

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.