J. W. Coons Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

J. W. Coons Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 465 shares during the quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $3,152,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth $209,000. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth $708,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 280,961 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $77,750,000 after purchasing an additional 15,340 shares during the period. RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth $470,000. Finally, Dash Acquisitions Inc. lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. now owns 52,329 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,069,000 after buying an additional 2,781 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total transaction of $704,869.20. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at $929,007.90. This represents a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total transaction of $210,236.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 68,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,077,721.04. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241 over the last quarter. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $310.76 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $126.62 billion, a PE ratio of 32.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $298.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $290.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $231.27 and a 1 year high of $313.72.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. Equities analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ADP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $293.55.

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.