First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown Purchases 247 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown raised its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,947 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the quarter. First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,092,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ADP. Hudson Value Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 22.0% during the third quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 3,050 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $844,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 150.0% in the third quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 500 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $138,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 890 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $246,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 124.3% during the third quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 6,499 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,798,000 after buying an additional 3,602 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 4.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 529,690 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $146,581,000 after buying an additional 22,766 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

NASDAQ:ADP opened at $304.85 on Friday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $223.28 and a 52 week high of $306.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $282.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $261.11. The firm has a market cap of $124.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.08 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This is a boost from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is currently 59.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ADP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $289.91.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was 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. 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 accessible through this link. In other news, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total value of $7,164,724.32. Following the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total value of $2,479,748.35. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,899,862.45. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 58,817 shares of company stock worth $15,999,208. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.