Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Has $11.98 Million Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 51.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 43,300 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 14,755 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $11,982,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the second quarter worth $27,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 0.0 %

NASDAQ ADP traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $304.73. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,552,646 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,607,719. The company has a market capitalization of $124.17 billion, a PE ratio of 32.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $225.38 and a 52 week high of $306.92. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $284.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $261.82.

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

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. This is an increase from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ADP shares. Mizuho raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $289.91.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $9,899,862.45. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $11,692,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 32,604 shares in the company, valued at $9,781,200. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 97,792 shares of company stock valued at $27,691,708. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.