LPL Financial LLC Acquires 28,297 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 5.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 554,982 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,297 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $132,469,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ADP. BlueSpruce Investments LP bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 1st quarter worth $365,757,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at about $308,321,000. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,543,317 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $825,487,000 after purchasing an additional 649,791 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 27.7% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,715,382 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $678,601,000 after buying an additional 589,831 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 238.1% in the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 784,003 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $195,797,000 after buying an additional 552,096 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $278.40 on Friday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $205.53 and a 1 year high of $279.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The business’s 50-day moving average is $259.68 and its 200-day moving average is $250.38. The company has a market capitalization of $113.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $4.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.74 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 89.20% and a net margin of 19.54%. The company’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 62.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ADP shares. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed 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. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $282.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $265.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total transaction of $7,164,724.32. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 88,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,959,908.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Automatic Data Processing news, CEO Maria Black sold 19,147 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total transaction of $5,253,553.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 92,807 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,464,384.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total transaction 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. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 58,817 shares of company stock valued at $15,999,208. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.