Rathbones Group PLC Trims Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Rathbones Group PLC reduced its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 2.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,381 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 60 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $568,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ADP. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 39,769,440 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,932,020,000 after purchasing an additional 173,298 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,492,425 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,279,570,000 after buying an additional 249,566 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,625,186 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $905,354,000 after acquiring an additional 81,869 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 27.7% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,715,382 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $678,601,000 after acquiring an additional 589,831 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% during the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 2,556,377 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $610,182,000 after acquiring an additional 9,464 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

NASDAQ ADP opened at $278.60 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $261.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $250.73. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $205.53 and a 12-month high of $279.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

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

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ADP shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $265.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

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

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.