Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Raises Stock Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 18.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,401 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,555 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $5,219,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Evolution Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 106.0% in the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 173 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, Bfsg LLC acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of ADP traded down $3.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $243.07. The stock had a trading volume of 1,555,489 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,384,926. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $99.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s fifty day moving average is $246.70 and its 200 day moving average is $239.26. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $205.53 and a 52-week high of $256.84.

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

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ADP shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $267.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Bank of America upgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $217.00 to $243.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 11th. 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 investment 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.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $254.58.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP David Kwon sold 863 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $215,750.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 8,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,071,250. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Don Mcguire sold 11,333 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $2,776,585.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 19,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,876,970. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP David Kwon sold 863 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,071,250. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,162 shares of company stock valued at $3,741,859. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.