First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Purchases 1,307 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 6.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 22,011 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,307 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $6,091,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 230.3% in the 1st quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC now owns 109 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the first quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the first quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ ADP traded up $2.52 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $290.47. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 531,692 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,625,424. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market cap of $118.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $280.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $259.15. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $205.53 and a one year high of $294.18.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $4.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.74 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.54% and a return on equity of 89.20%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.89 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.50%.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Don Mcguire sold 3,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total value of $872,254.02. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 41,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,440,548.48. 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, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the 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 owns 36,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,899,862.45. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $872,254.02. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 41,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,440,548.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 58,817 shares of company stock worth $15,999,208. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on ADP. 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. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $282.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $277.64.

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.