Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Position Boosted by Ballentine Partners LLC

Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,940 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $5,795,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 230.3% during the 1st quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC now owns 109 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $267.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, August 1st. UBS Group raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $275.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total value of $7,164,724.32. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 88,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,959,908.96. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other 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 transaction of $5,253,553.86. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 92,807 shares in the company, valued at $25,464,384.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total value of $7,164,724.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 88,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,959,908.96. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 58,817 shares of company stock valued at $15,999,208 in the last 90 days. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $289.43 on Friday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $205.53 and a 52 week high of $294.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.30, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $278.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $257.89.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 89.20% and a net margin of 19.54%. The business had revenue of $4.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.89 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 10.04 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio 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.