Aviance Capital Partners LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 35.9% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 9,411 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,485 shares during the period. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $2,350,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Heritage Investment Group Inc. grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Heritage Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,201 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $513,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 5,254 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,224,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 8,863 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,065,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC now owns 2,720 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $634,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 4,580 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on ADP shares. StockNews.com upgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Barclays increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $280.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Mizuho increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $254.00 to $250.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $255.42.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP traded down $1.54 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $237.15. The company had a trading volume of 151,920 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,682,547. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $205.53 and a twelve month high of $256.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market cap of $97.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $245.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $243.86.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $2.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.79 by $0.09. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 93.09% and a net margin of 19.56%. The firm had revenue of $5.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. 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.