Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. Lowers Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. decreased its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 10.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,306 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 406 shares during the quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $716,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of ADP. Ten Capital Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 110.7% in the 1st quarter. Ten Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 118 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Arlington Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 79.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, CEO Maria Black sold 2,963 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.90, for a total transaction of $752,305.70. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 54,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,820,538.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Maria Black sold 2,963 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.90, for a total transaction of $752,305.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,820,538.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 58,864 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.42, for a total transaction of $14,740,722.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 44,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,233,590.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 170,089 shares of company stock valued at $42,719,064 over the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

NASDAQ ADP traded down $3.07 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $244.21. The stock had a trading volume of 257,002 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,785,168. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $246.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $226.89. The company has a market cap of $100.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $201.46 and a 52-week high of $274.92.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The business services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.06. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 107.15% and a net margin of 18.94%. The firm had revenue of $4.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 8th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 7th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ADP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 22nd. Mizuho raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $255.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 17th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $235.00 to $270.00 in a report on Thursday, July 27th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $240.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Friday, June 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $230.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $249.57.

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.