Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC Purchases 7,524 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 24.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 38,611 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,524 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $9,216,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ADP. BlueSpruce Investments LP acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the first quarter valued at approximately $365,757,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $308,321,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,543,317 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $825,487,000 after purchasing an additional 649,791 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 27.7% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,715,382 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $678,601,000 after purchasing an additional 589,831 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 238.1% during the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 784,003 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $195,797,000 after purchasing an additional 552,096 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $279.41 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $262.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $250.94. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $205.53 and a one year high of $281.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $114.36 billion, a PE ratio of 31.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.79.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 10.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 62.50%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total value of $228,927.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,816,946. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total transaction of $2,479,748.35. Following the sale, the director now owns 36,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,899,862.45. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total value of $228,927.60. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,816,946. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 58,817 shares of company stock worth $15,999,208. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ADP shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $267.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $265.36.

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.