Atwood & Palmer Inc. Sells 1,900 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. $ADP

Atwood & Palmer Inc. cut its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 53.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,639 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,900 shares during the period. Atwood & Palmer Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $423,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Compass Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Compass Capital Management Inc. now owns 203,710 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $52,400,000 after buying an additional 5,899 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the second quarter valued at approximately $13,283,000. Royal Capital Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,226,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the second quarter worth approximately $152,706,000. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 192.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 7,165 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,605,000 after acquiring an additional 4,711 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Maria Black sold 29,810 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $8,373,927.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 80,624 shares in the company, valued at $22,648,087.84. This trade represents a 26.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Brian Michaud sold 120 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.70, for a total transaction of $33,564.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 18,442 shares in the company, valued at $5,158,227.40. This represents a 0.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 33,773 shares of company stock valued at $9,450,629 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on ADP. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $240.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $248.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $216.00 to $223.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $248.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $230.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $273.50.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP traded up $6.73 on Thursday, reaching $270.73. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,793,292 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,902,825. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $188.16 and a 52-week high of $291.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.75, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.83. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $271.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $238.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $2.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 71.34% and a net margin of 20.11%.The firm had revenue of $5.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Automatic Data Processing has set its FY 2027 guidance at 12.120-12.340 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 12.27 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 11th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is 62.16%.

About Automatic Data Processing

Automatic Data Processing, Inc (NASDAQ: ADP) is a provider of human capital management and business outsourcing solutions. The company helps organizations manage payroll, tax withholding and compliance, employee benefits, time and attendance, workforce management, talent acquisition, and human resources administration.

ADP offers cloud-based platforms and related services designed for businesses of different sizes, from small companies to large multinational employers. Its offerings include payroll and HR software, workforce analytics, talent management tools, retirement and insurance-related administration, and professional employer organization services through ADP TotalSource.