ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Lowers Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,522 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 51 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,985,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Ardent Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter worth about $392,000. Americana Partners LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 3.1% during the third quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 22,228 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,330,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 28.5% during the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,150 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,995,000 after acquiring an additional 3,800 shares during the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 36.7% during the fourth quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 19,800 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,613,000 after acquiring an additional 5,318 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,635,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ ADP traded up $1.32 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $243.31. The stock had a trading volume of 1,638,700 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,816,781. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $99.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $247.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $239.23. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $4.67 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.96 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 368 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.01, for a total transaction of $90,899.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 20,319 shares in the company, valued at $5,018,996.19. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, VP David Kwon sold 863 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now owns 8,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,071,250. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 368 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.01, for a total value of $90,899.68. Following the sale, the vice president now 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 sold a total of 15,162 shares of company stock worth $3,741,859 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ADP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed 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. Bank of America raised Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $217.00 to $243.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $254.58.

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.