Northwest Bancshares Inc. Sells 75 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Northwest Bancshares Inc. decreased its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,367 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 75 shares during the period. Northwest Bancshares Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $655,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ADP. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth $35,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the first quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $11,692,500.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 32,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,781,200. This trade represents a 54.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total value of $2,479,748.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 36,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,899,862.45. This represents a 20.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 97,792 shares of company stock worth $27,691,708. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

NASDAQ:ADP opened at $297.54 on Wednesday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $227.12 and a 52 week high of $309.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $288.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $264.93. The firm has a market cap of $121.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.08 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This is an increase from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is 59.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ADP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $289.91.

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.