Sanctuary Advisors LLC Buys New Shares in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 68,248 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $16,589,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 230.3% in the first quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC now owns 109 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on ADP. Bank of America lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $267.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Automatic Data Processing news, CEO Maria Black sold 19,147 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 92,807 shares in the company, valued at $25,464,384.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 88,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,959,908.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 58,817 shares of company stock valued at $15,999,208 over the last quarter. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

NASDAQ ADP opened at $283.55 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $269.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $253.43. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $205.53 and a 12-month high of $283.76. The company has a market capitalization of $116.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

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. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 89.20% and a net margin of 19.54%. The business had revenue of $4.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.89 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.