Wedmont Private Capital Raises Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Wedmont Private Capital boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,516 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 141 shares during the quarter. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $837,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 23.6% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 156,652 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,541,000 after purchasing an additional 29,894 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth approximately $727,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth approximately $150,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 10,945 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,550,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059 shares during the period. Finally, Baystate Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,930 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $450,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on ADP. Bank of America lifted their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $254.00 to $250.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $282.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $262.18.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP traded up $2.39 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $261.51. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 432,997 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,683,324. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.03 billion, a PE ratio of 28.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $247.08 and a 200 day moving average of $246.84. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $205.53 and a twelve month high of $269.49.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $4.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.74 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.54% and a return on equity of 89.20%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.89 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 10.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.50%.

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.