First Affirmative Financial Network Sells 975 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

First Affirmative Financial Network decreased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 19.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,021 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 975 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing comprises approximately 0.7% of First Affirmative Financial Network’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. First Affirmative Financial Network’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,229,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at $708,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 155,934 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $45,647,000 after acquiring an additional 2,787 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 236,707 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $69,290,000 after acquiring an additional 21,910 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 42.8% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,725 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,090,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Napatree Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 3,199 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $936,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total value of $458,070.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,686,852.74. The trade was a 11.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 473 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total value of $144,832.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 7,244 shares in the company, valued at $2,218,112.80. This represents a 6.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,451 shares of company stock valued at $743,024. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ADP. TD Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $298.00 to $321.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $305.64.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $326.81 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $305.96 and its 200 day moving average is $302.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $132.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $329.93.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.49 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.88 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.05%.

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.