Argent Capital Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Argent Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.0% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 102,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,079 shares during the quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $24,471,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ADP. BlueSpruce Investments LP acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the first quarter valued at $365,757,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at about $308,321,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,543,317 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $825,487,000 after acquiring an additional 649,791 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 27.7% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,715,382 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $678,601,000 after acquiring an additional 589,831 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 238.1% in the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 784,003 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $195,797,000 after purchasing an additional 552,096 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on ADP. StockNews.com raised Automatic Data Processing from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $282.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $265.36.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 0.1 %

ADP traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $269.60. The stock had a trading volume of 1,206,702 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,658,561. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $205.53 and a 52 week high of $270.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $110.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.78. 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $250.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $248.18.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.03. The company 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 firm’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 10.01 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 62.50%.

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.