Ritholtz Wealth Management Acquires 818 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,133 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 818 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $4,328,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ADP. BlueSpruce Investments LP bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 1st quarter worth about $365,757,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth about $308,321,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,543,317 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $825,487,000 after acquiring an additional 649,791 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 27.7% during the 1st 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. grew 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 purchasing an additional 552,096 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on ADP shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $267.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $282.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $265.36.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

NASDAQ ADP traded up $2.55 on Friday, reaching $275.91. 1,548,080 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,366,105. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $205.53 and a one year high of $276.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.52 billion, a PE ratio of 30.79, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $253.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $248.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.54% and a return on equity of 89.20%. The firm had revenue of $4.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 62.50%.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total value of $228,927.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,816,946. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the 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 directly owns 10,410 shares in the company, valued at $2,816,946. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 88,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,959,908.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.