Empower Advisory Group LLC Lowers Stock Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Empower Advisory Group LLC cut its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 37,474 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 162 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $10,370,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the second quarter worth $27,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% in the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of ADP stock opened at $307.50 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $125.29 billion, a PE ratio of 32.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a 50-day moving average of $285.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $262.92. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $227.12 and a 1-year high of $309.37.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. The company 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%. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.08 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This is a positive change from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total value of $2,479,748.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 36,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,899,862.45. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Maria Black sold 19,147 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total value of $5,253,553.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 92,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,464,384.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total transaction of $2,479,748.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,899,862.45. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 97,792 shares of company stock valued at $27,691,708 over the last 90 days. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ADP. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $289.91.

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.