B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Decreases Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. cut its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 7.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,652 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,009 shares during the quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $6,399,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 230.3% in the 1st quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC now owns 109 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the first quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $276.73 on Tuesday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $205.53 and a one year high of $281.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $113.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.89, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $268.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $252.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $4.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 10.04 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $282.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $267.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Maria Black sold 19,147 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were 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 owns 92,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,464,384.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Don Mcguire sold 3,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total transaction of $872,254.02. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 41,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,440,548.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 19,147 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total value of $5,253,553.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 92,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,464,384.66. 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. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.