Comerica Bank Trims Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Comerica Bank decreased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 290,220 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 10,250 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank owned approximately 0.07% of Automatic Data Processing worth $84,956,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Virtu Financial LLC grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 202.7% during the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 4,870 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,348,000 after acquiring an additional 3,261 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter valued at approximately $310,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 7.0% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 15,384 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,257,000 after buying an additional 1,001 shares during the period. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 3.5% in the third quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 9,935 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,753,000 after buying an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 22.6% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,466 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,066,000 after buying an additional 1,378 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $295.77 on Wednesday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.27 and a twelve month high of $322.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market cap of $120.51 billion, a PE ratio of 30.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s 50 day moving average is $298.86 and its 200 day moving average is $298.53.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 473 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total transaction of $144,832.60. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,218,112.80. This represents a 6.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total transaction of $458,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,686,852.74. The trade was a 11.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,775 shares of company stock valued at $1,447,893 in the last quarter. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays upped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $302.30.

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.