Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Bought by Smithfield Trust Co

Smithfield Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 14,076 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 484 shares during the quarter. Smithfield Trust Co’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $3,899,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. Accredited Investors Inc. grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 4,431.5% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,315,295 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $640,712,000 after purchasing an additional 2,264,202 shares during the period. BlueSpruce Investments LP acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 1st quarter valued at about $365,757,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 28,478.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,194,587 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,305,780,000 after acquiring an additional 1,190,407 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 238.1% during the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 784,003 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $195,797,000 after acquiring an additional 552,096 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 242.4% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 644,135 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $153,749,000 after acquiring an additional 456,027 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $11,692,500.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,781,200. The trade was a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 directly owns 10,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,816,946. The trade was a 7.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 97,792 shares of company stock valued at $27,691,708. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 0.4 %

ADP opened at $298.59 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $288.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $265.16. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $227.12 and a 1-year high of $309.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.79.

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

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This is a positive change from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is presently 59.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $289.91.

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.