Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Acquired by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1,628.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 196,922 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 185,532 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing makes up approximately 0.8% of Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $54,509,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 70.7% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 638,507 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $152,405,000 after purchasing an additional 264,466 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 23.8% in the second quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 26,610 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,352,000 after buying an additional 5,114 shares during the last quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at about $209,000. ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 2,917.1% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 4,224 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $997,000 after buying an additional 4,084 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth $470,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ADP shares. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $306.93 on Monday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $227.12 and a one year high of $309.63. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $292.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $268.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.76, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.08 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. This is an increase from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is presently 59.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Don Mcguire sold 3,179 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total transaction of $872,254.02. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 41,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,440,548.48. This represents a 7.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $11,692,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,781,200. This trade represents a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 70,504 shares of company stock worth $20,298,056 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.