Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. Cuts Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. decreased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,616 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 54 shares during the period. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $2,773,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% during the second quarter. Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,645 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,302,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 5.0% during the second quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 863 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $206,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 5,254 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,224,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 0.8% during the first quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 5,581 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,402,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Patron Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 1.6% during the first quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 2,733 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $683,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 1.1 %

NASDAQ:ADP traded down $3.16 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $272.06. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 152,756 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,633,425. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $205.53 and a 1 year high of $278.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $255.11 and a 200-day moving average of $249.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.35 billion, a PE ratio of 30.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $4.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.74 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.54% and a return on equity of 89.20%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total value of $228,927.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,816,946. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total value of $228,927.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,816,946. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 19,147 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total transaction of $5,253,553.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 92,807 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,464,384.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 49,614 shares of company stock worth $13,519,460. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on ADP. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $282.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $267.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $265.36.

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.