Smithfield Trust Co Increases Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Smithfield Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,076 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 484 shares during the quarter. Smithfield Trust Co’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $3,899,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 1,054 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $292,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $482,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,485 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,902,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 5,698 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,360,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Austin Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 923 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ ADP opened at $298.59 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a fifty day moving average of $288.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $265.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.87, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $227.12 and a 52 week high of $309.37.

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

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. This is a boost from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $11,692,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares in the company, valued at $9,781,200. The trade was a 54.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Don Mcguire sold 3,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total transaction of $872,254.02. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 41,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,440,548.48. This trade represents a 7.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 97,792 shares of company stock valued at $27,691,708. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America increased their price objective 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. 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. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $289.91.

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.