Blue Trust Inc. Purchases 98 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 2.6% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,813 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $952,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Evolution Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 106.0% in the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 173 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bfsg LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

NASDAQ:ADP traded down $1.35 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $235.56. The stock had a trading volume of 1,847,304 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,593,071. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $205.53 and a 52 week high of $256.84. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $244.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $243.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.41 billion, a PE ratio of 26.29, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.78.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.79 by $0.09. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 93.09% and a net margin of 19.56%. The business had revenue of $5.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.52 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on ADP shares. Barclays raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $280.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Mizuho raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 11th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $253.00 to $251.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $255.42.

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.