Grove Bank & Trust Raises Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Grove Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 2.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,248 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 96 shares during the quarter. Grove Bank & Trust’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,176,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 39,769,440 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,932,020,000 after acquiring an additional 173,298 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,492,425 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,279,570,000 after purchasing an additional 249,566 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 12.0% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,065,308 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $964,989,000 after purchasing an additional 435,093 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 2.3% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,625,186 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $905,354,000 after purchasing an additional 81,869 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,548,165 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $846,912,000 after purchasing an additional 139,561 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ADP has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $282.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. 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 report on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target 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. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $267.83.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Maria Black sold 19,147 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total value of $5,253,553.86. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 92,807 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,464,384.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Maria Black sold 19,147 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total value of $5,253,553.86. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 92,807 shares in the company, valued at $25,464,384.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now owns 88,426 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,959,908.96. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 58,817 shares of company stock worth $15,999,208 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

NASDAQ:ADP traded up $2.44 on Monday, reaching $290.80. 205,162 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,625,940. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $273.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $255.45. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $205.53 and a 12 month high of $290.89. The firm has a market cap of $119.02 billion, a PE ratio of 32.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

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

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

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

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.