Acadian Asset Management LLC Raises Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 19.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 367,741 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 60,308 shares during the quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned about 0.09% of Automatic Data Processing worth $87,754,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Keener Financial Planning LLC boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 230.3% in the 1st quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC now owns 109 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total transaction of $228,927.60. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 10,410 shares in the company, valued at $2,816,946. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total transaction of $228,927.60. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 10,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,816,946. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total transaction of $7,164,724.32. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 88,426 shares in the company, valued at $23,959,908.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 49,614 shares of company stock valued at $13,519,460. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ ADP opened at $269.56 on Friday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $205.53 and a 52 week high of $278.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market capitalization of $110.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.79. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $256.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $249.71.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $4.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.89 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.50%.

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.