S&CO Inc. Purchases 2,350 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

S&CO Inc. boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 205,840 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,350 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing accounts for about 3.7% of S&CO Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. S&CO Inc. owned about 0.05% of Automatic Data Processing worth $56,962,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% in the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ADP. StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $289.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $11,692,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,781,200. This represents a 54.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total transaction of $228,927.60. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 10,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,816,946. This trade represents a 7.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 97,792 shares of company stock valued at $27,691,708. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of ADP stock opened at $297.64 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $287.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $264.02. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $227.12 and a 12 month high of $309.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.28 billion, a PE ratio of 31.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. The company had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.08 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This is a boost from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 59.77%.

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.