Blue Trust Inc. Buys 2,207 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 46.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,927 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,207 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,917,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 801,857 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $200,256,000 after purchasing an additional 99,515 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 70.7% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 638,507 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $152,405,000 after acquiring an additional 264,466 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 195.1% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 51,607 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,888,000 after acquiring an additional 34,118 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the first quarter worth about $2,924,000. Finally, LVW Advisors LLC increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 23.8% during the first quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 3,854 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $962,000 after acquiring an additional 740 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $292.29 on Friday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $205.53 and a 52-week high of $294.18. The company has a market capitalization of $119.63 billion, a PE ratio of 32.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a fifty day moving average of $276.64 and a 200-day moving average of $256.90.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $4.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.74 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 89.20% and a net margin of 19.54%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 10.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Automatic Data Processing news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 36,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,899,862.45. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total value of $7,164,724.32. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 88,426 shares in the company, valued at $23,959,908.96. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total transaction of $2,479,748.35. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 36,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,899,862.45. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 58,817 shares of company stock valued at $15,999,208 in the last ninety days. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $267.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Citigroup increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $267.83.

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.