Washington Trust Bank Boosts Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Washington Trust Bank lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 124.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,499 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,602 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,798,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlueSpruce Investments LP purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 1st quarter valued at about $365,757,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 28,478.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,194,587 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,305,780,000 after acquiring an additional 1,190,407 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 238.1% during the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 784,003 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $195,797,000 after acquiring an additional 552,096 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 242.4% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 644,135 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $153,749,000 after acquiring an additional 456,027 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 12.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,065,308 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $964,989,000 after acquiring an additional 435,093 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of ADP stock traded down $0.48 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $304.70. The company had a trading volume of 4,277 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,630,002. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $282.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $261.11. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $223.28 and a one year high of $306.71. The firm has a market cap of $124.26 billion, a PE ratio of 32.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

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

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. This is a positive change from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 59.77%.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total transaction of $228,927.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,816,946. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total transaction of $228,927.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,816,946. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total transaction of $7,164,724.32. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 88,426 shares in the company, valued at $23,959,908.96. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 58,817 shares of company stock worth $15,999,208. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ADP shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $289.91.

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.