Ghe LLC Grows Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Ghe LLC grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,318 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 94 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing comprises 2.5% of Ghe LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Ghe LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $4,035,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,670,083 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,085,849,000 after purchasing an additional 198,008 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,902,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,420,028,000 after purchasing an additional 288,234 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,242,859 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,261,327,000 after purchasing an additional 77,187 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,576,575 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $855,287,000 after purchasing an additional 553,946 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 40.7% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,128,701 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $752,703,000 after acquiring an additional 905,043 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of ADP traded down $0.23 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $246.61. The stock had a trading volume of 1,453,943 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,804,052. The company’s fifty day moving average is $247.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $239.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $201.46 and a 52 week high of $256.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.78.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 95.22%. The business had revenue of $4.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.96 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.14 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ADP. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $267.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $217.00 to $243.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $254.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 368 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.01, for a total transaction of $90,899.68. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,018,996.19. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Joseph Desilva sold 1,904 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total transaction of $485,520.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 17,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,380,645. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 368 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.01, for a total transaction of $90,899.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 20,319 shares in the company, valued at $5,018,996.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,162 shares of company stock valued at $3,741,859 in the last 90 days. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.