Blue Trust Inc. Acquires 2,207 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 46.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,927 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,207 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,917,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 230.3% during the first 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 during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total value of $228,927.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 10,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,816,946. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Automatic Data Processing news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the 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 sale, the director now owns 36,741 shares in the company, valued at $9,899,862.45. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,816,946. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 58,817 shares of company stock valued at $15,999,208 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

ADP opened at $292.29 on Friday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $205.53 and a fifty-two week high of $294.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $276.64 and a 200 day moving average of $256.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $119.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.62, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released 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 firm had revenue of $4.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.74 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.54% and a return on equity of 89.20%. The company’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 10.04 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is presently 62.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ADP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $282.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. 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. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $267.83.

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.