Verum Partners LLC Sells 456 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Verum Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 19.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,917 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 456 shares during the period. Verum Partners LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $447,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ADP. Marotta Asset Management grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Marotta Asset Management now owns 1,395 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $336,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 34.7% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 159 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 3,587 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $857,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 0.5% in the third quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 8,292 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,995,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PFS Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. PFS Investments Inc. now owns 1,396 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $333,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 1.3 %

ADP traded up $3.26 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $248.33. The company had a trading volume of 1,149,201 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,912,451. The company has a market capitalization of $102.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.91, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $246.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $238.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $201.46 and a 52 week high of $256.84.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $4.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.65 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 95.22% and a net margin of 19.14%. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.96 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.19%.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 368 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.01, for a total value of $90,899.68. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,018,996.19. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, VP Don Mcguire sold 11,333 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total value of $2,776,585.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 19,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,876,970. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 368 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.01, for a total transaction of $90,899.68. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,018,996.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 16,662 shares of company stock valued at $4,094,554 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ADP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $267.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “hold” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, November 30th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $217.00 to $243.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $253.08.

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.