Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Sold by Bull Street Advisors LLC

Bull Street Advisors LLC lessened its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,163 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 225 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing makes up 1.9% of Bull Street Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. Bull Street Advisors LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $4,022,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 34,655.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,901,007 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $886,345,000 after purchasing an additional 2,892,660 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at about $455,993,000. Winslow Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth approximately $396,714,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings 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 worth $1,796,415,000 after purchasing an additional 1,299,390 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth approximately $342,942,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $321.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. TD Securities increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $298.00 to $321.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. UBS Group lowered their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $323.00 to $315.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 478 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,364 shares in the company, valued at $2,158,682.96. This represents a 6.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the business’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 completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of ADP stock opened at $302.98 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $310.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $303.05. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.27 and a twelve month high of $329.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $122.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.01, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.09. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 77.33% and a net margin of 19.79%. The company had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.88 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.05%.

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.