Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Acquired by HM Payson & Co.

HM Payson & Co. increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 41,360 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the quarter. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $11,446,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Veracity Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 1st quarter valued at $206,000. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 32,473 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,874,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 10.0% during the first quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,997 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,997,000 after purchasing an additional 725 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 19.7% in the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 4,393 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,097,000 after purchasing an additional 723 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the first quarter worth approximately $2,867,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays raised 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $267.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $277.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total value of $7,164,724.32. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 88,426 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,959,908.96. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Don Mcguire sold 3,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total value of $872,254.02. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 41,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,440,548.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total transaction of $7,164,724.32. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 88,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,959,908.96. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 58,817 shares of company stock valued at $15,999,208 over the last 90 days. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP traded down $1.88 during trading on Thursday, hitting $290.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 69,926 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,625,318. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $205.53 and a fifty-two week high of $294.18. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $280.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $259.38. 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 market capitalization of $119.06 billion, a PE ratio of 32.68, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.54% and a return on equity of 89.20%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.08 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 10.04 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.50%.

Automatic Data Processing 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.