D.A. Davidson & CO. Acquires 3,868 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 251,960 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,868 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. owned about 0.06% of Automatic Data Processing worth $55,378,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ADP. Penserra Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 116.7% in the second quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 4,730 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,038,000 after purchasing an additional 2,547 shares during the last quarter. First Western Trust Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.4% during the second quarter. First Western Trust Bank now owns 3,324 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $731,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 13.6% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 176,845 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,473,000 after acquiring an additional 21,119 shares during the period. Talisman Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.7% in the second quarter. Talisman Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $487,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 4.9% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,178,054 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $258,924,000 after acquiring an additional 55,156 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ADP. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 22nd. StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 25th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $285.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 26th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Tuesday, November 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $235.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $248.42.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, CEO Maria Black sold 17,326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.03, for a total transaction of $4,418,649.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 70,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,051,533.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, VP John Ayala sold 27,753 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.79, for a total value of $7,071,186.87. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 45,893 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,693,077.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 17,326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.03, for a total value of $4,418,649.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 70,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,051,533.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 165,420 shares of company stock worth $41,491,937. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Automatic Data Processing stock traded down $1.50 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $230.21. 218,862 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,746,472. The company has a market capitalization of $94.69 billion, a PE ratio of 27.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a fifty day moving average of $236.36 and a 200 day moving average of $232.98. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $201.46 and a 1-year high of $274.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 25th. The business services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.07% and a return on equity of 102.59%. The company had revenue of $4.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.52 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 8th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This is an increase from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 7th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.59%.

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.