PDS Planning Inc Buys 47 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

PDS Planning Inc raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,702 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,024,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlueSpruce Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the first quarter valued at approximately $365,757,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 worth $3,305,780,000 after acquiring an additional 1,190,407 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in 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 worth $195,797,000 after acquiring an additional 552,096 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in 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 worth $153,749,000 after acquiring an additional 456,027 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,065,308 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $964,989,000 after buying an additional 435,093 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 1.1 %

ADP stock traded up $3.24 during trading on Monday, hitting $291.42. 170,327 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,630,495. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $218.63 and a 1 year high of $294.18. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $281.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $260.13. The stock has a market cap of $118.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.08 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.97 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ADP has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of 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 increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $289.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 36,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,899,862.45. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Maria Black sold 19,147 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total value of $5,253,553.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 92,807 shares in the company, valued at $25,464,384.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total value of $2,479,748.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 36,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,899,862.45. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 58,817 shares of company stock worth $15,999,208. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.