Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Sells 2,747 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich decreased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,881 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,747 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $11,388,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Stevens Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth approximately $886,000. Abbrea Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Abbrea Capital LLC now owns 5,021 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,177,000 after buying an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 19.8% in the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 4,515 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,052,000 after buying an additional 747 shares in the last quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $424,000. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 45,178 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,525,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ADP shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Bank of America raised 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. 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. Evercore ISI upped their price target 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $267.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $254.58.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of ADP traded down $3.27 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $243.07. The stock had a trading volume of 1,555,277 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,793,701. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $205.53 and a 1 year high of $256.84. The firm has a market cap of $99.85 billion, a PE ratio of 28.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.78. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average is $246.89 and its 200 day moving average is $239.31.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $4.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.65 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 95.22%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.96 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.14 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 368 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 20,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,018,996.19. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, VP Don Mcguire sold 11,333 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total value of $2,776,585.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 19,906 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,876,970. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 368 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,162 shares of company stock valued at $3,741,859 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Company 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.