Ghe LLC Grows Stock Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Ghe LLC lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 2.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,681 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing comprises 2.0% of Ghe LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Ghe LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $4,798,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ADP. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 23.2% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 18,414 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,599,000 after purchasing an additional 3,465 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 1st quarter valued at $754,000. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 28.9% during the 1st quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,791 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $697,000 after acquiring an additional 625 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 14.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 99,515 shares during the period. Finally, D Orazio & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 2,179 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $544,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ADP traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $307.83. The stock had a trading volume of 39,917 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,627,415. The company has a market capitalization of $125.43 billion, a PE ratio of 32.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $285.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $262.92. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $227.12 and a 1 year high of $309.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.08 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This is a boost from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is presently 59.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on ADP shares. Bank of America boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Citigroup increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on 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 analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $289.91.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total transaction of $228,927.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,816,946. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 32,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,781,200. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total value of $228,927.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,816,946. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 97,792 shares of company stock valued at $27,691,708. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.