Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Purchased by Fidelis Capital Partners LLC

Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 2.5% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 7,510 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,944,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 230.3% during the first quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC now owns 109 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Finally, New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 2nd quarter worth $40,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ADP. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $267.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $265.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total transaction of $2,479,748.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,899,862.45. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Automatic Data Processing news, CEO Maria Black sold 19,147 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total value of $5,253,553.86. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 92,807 shares in the company, valued at $25,464,384.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total value of $2,479,748.35. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,899,862.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 58,817 shares of company stock worth $15,999,208 in the last quarter. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

NASDAQ ADP opened at $276.41 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $113.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $264.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $251.56. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $205.53 and a 1-year high of $281.54.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.03. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.54% and a return on equity of 89.20%. The firm had revenue of $4.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 10.04 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 62.50%.

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.