Tortoise Investment Management LLC Raises Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 21.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 597 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. Tortoise Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $142,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 1.3% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 864,655 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $206,384,000 after purchasing an additional 10,978 shares during the last quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 4,393 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,049,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Rockline Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter. Rockline Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,389 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,957,000 after acquiring an additional 1,275 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 27.7% in the second quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 2,500 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $597,000 after acquiring an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carret Asset Management LLC raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 1.0% during the second quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC now owns 10,229 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,442,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of ADP stock opened at $275.55 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $254.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $249.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $205.53 and a one year high of $278.02. The company has a market capitalization of $112.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.78.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $4.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.74 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 89.20% and a net margin of 19.54%. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 10.04 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.50%.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In related 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 directly owns 10,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,816,946. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Automatic Data Processing news, 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 value of $7,164,724.32. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 88,426 shares in the company, valued at $23,959,908.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the company’s 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 directly owns 10,410 shares in the company, valued at $2,816,946. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of 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 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $265.36.

Automatic Data Processing Company 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.