Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Acquired by Empirical Finance LLC

Empirical Finance LLC increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 14,335 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $3,967,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Accredited Investors Inc. raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 4,431.5% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,315,295 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $640,712,000 after purchasing an additional 2,264,202 shares during the period. BlueSpruce Investments LP acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 1st quarter worth about $365,757,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 28,478.6% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,194,587 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,305,780,000 after buying an additional 1,190,407 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 238.1% in the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 784,003 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $195,797,000 after buying an additional 552,096 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 242.4% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 644,135 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $153,749,000 after buying an additional 456,027 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of ADP opened at $301.99 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $286.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $263.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $227.12 and a 1-year high of $309.37. The stock has a market cap of $123.05 billion, a PE ratio of 32.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. The company had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.08 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This is a boost from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.77%.

Insider Activity

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total value of $228,927.60. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,816,946. This represents a 7.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 88,426 shares in the company, valued at $23,959,908.96. This trade represents a 23.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 97,792 shares of company stock valued at $27,691,708. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ADP has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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 cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $289.91.

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.