GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Raises Stock Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,188 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $8,354,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ADP. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC raised its position 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 lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% in the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the first quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ADP shares. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada restated 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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, August 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $275.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Maria Black sold 19,147 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 92,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,464,384.66. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total transaction of $228,927.60. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 10,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,816,946. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $5,253,553.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 92,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,464,384.66. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 58,817 shares of company stock valued at $15,999,208 over the last quarter. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.5 %

ADP stock traded down $1.47 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $287.96. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,691,504 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,626,496. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $205.53 and a 1 year high of $294.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $117.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.14, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $279.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $258.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 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 last year, the firm posted $1.89 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 10.04 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 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.