Hummer Financial Advisory Services Inc Grows Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Hummer Financial Advisory Services Inc raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 3.0% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,100 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing comprises about 1.1% of Hummer Financial Advisory Services Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Hummer Financial Advisory Services Inc’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,281,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Rockland Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.2% in the first quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 123,491 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $30,841,000 after purchasing an additional 1,491 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 119.3% in the first quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 329 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. Bennett Selby Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the first quarter valued at about $212,000. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.7% in the first quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 50,612 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,639,000 after purchasing an additional 2,256 shares during the period. Finally, Tealwood Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.2% in the first quarter. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,507 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,374,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ADP. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $254.00 to $250.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $280.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $255.42.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of ADP traded up $1.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $247.97. 3,022,851 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,362,978. The company has a market cap of $101.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.78. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $205.53 and a fifty-two week high of $256.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $245.89 and its 200-day moving average is $243.48.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.79 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $5.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 93.09%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.52 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.50%.

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.