PDS Planning Inc Boosts Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

PDS Planning Inc lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 3.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,530 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,384,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ADP. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 92.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,026 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,935,000 after acquiring an additional 4,808 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $957,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 44.6% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 17,176 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,028,000 after buying an additional 5,299 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 10,498 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,089,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 924,489 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $270,626,000 after acquiring an additional 168,972 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 478 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.14, for a total value of $140,120.92. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,158,682.96. The trade was a 6.10% 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 Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total value of $458,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,073 shares in the company, valued at $3,686,852.74. This represents a 11.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ADP. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. TD Securities upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $298.00 to $321.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $321.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $323.00 to $315.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $307.08.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 4.2%

Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $298.19 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $310.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $303.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.52, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $231.27 and a 52-week high of $329.93.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.49 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.79% and a return on equity of 77.33%. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.88 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.05%.

Automatic Data Processing 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.