Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Purchases 269,986 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 13.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,296,344 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 269,986 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $548,099,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% during the second quarter. Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,645 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,302,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 5.0% during the second quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 863 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $206,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 5,581 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,402,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Patron Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.6% during the first quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 2,733 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $683,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich now owns 5,328 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,271,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ADP opened at $277.51 on Monday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $205.53 and a 1-year high of $279.58. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $260.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $250.53. The firm has a market cap of $113.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

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

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ADP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $267.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $265.36.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was 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. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total transaction of $228,927.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,410 shares in the company, valued at $2,816,946. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total value of $2,479,748.35. Following the transaction, the director now owns 36,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,899,862.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 58,817 shares of company stock valued at $15,999,208. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.