Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Bought by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP – Get Rating) by 13.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,303 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 524 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $973,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 19.3% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 134,223 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $30,532,000 after buying an additional 21,671 shares during the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the first quarter valued at about $571,000. Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 12.4% in the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 453 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 82.8% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 636 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $145,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.4% in the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 2,902 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $660,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. 79.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 27th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing to $251.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 1st. Wolfe Research raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $220.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 5th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 12th. Finally, Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing to $237.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $244.45.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 52,254 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.15, for a total value of $12,235,274.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 44,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,415,226.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 37,594 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.29, for a total value of $9,071,056.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 44,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,732,820.49. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 52,254 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.15, for a total transaction of $12,235,274.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 44,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,415,226.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 106,557 shares of company stock valued at $25,351,834 over the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of ADP stock opened at $239.15 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market cap of $99.21 billion, a PE ratio of 33.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a 50-day moving average of $249.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $241.57. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $192.26 and a 1-year high of $274.92.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 26th. The business services provider reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $4.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.16 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 17.93% and a return on equity of 80.50%. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 8.12 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 9th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.16%.

Automatic Data Processing Profile

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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.