Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Sold by Federated Hermes Inc.

Federated Hermes Inc. lessened its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 53.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 87,115 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 99,491 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $20,295,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ADP. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,010,014 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,629,852,000 after acquiring an additional 794,328 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,670,083 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,085,849,000 after purchasing an additional 198,008 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 94,265.5% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,770,728 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,617,256,000 after purchasing an additional 6,763,553 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 5.1% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,902,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,420,028,000 after buying an additional 288,234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 1.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,242,859 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,261,327,000 after buying an additional 77,187 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ ADP opened at $243.31 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $247.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $239.19. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $201.46 and a one year high of $256.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $99.95 billion, a PE ratio of 28.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.78.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 95.22% and a net margin of 19.14%. The firm had revenue of $4.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.96 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP David Kwon sold 863 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $215,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,071,250. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP David Kwon sold 863 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was 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 approximately $2,071,250. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Joseph Desilva sold 1,904 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total value of $485,520.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 17,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,380,645. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,162 shares of company stock worth $3,741,859 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on ADP. Wolfe Research upgraded Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 11th. Bank of America upgraded shares of 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 report on Wednesday, January 17th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $254.58.

Automatic Data Processing Profile

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.