Community Bank N.A. Boosts Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Community Bank N.A. increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,027 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the quarter. Community Bank N.A.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $3,328,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ADP. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $964,989,000 after acquiring an additional 435,093 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 4.1% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,548,165 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $846,912,000 after purchasing an additional 139,561 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 1.3% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,238,526 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $896,197,000 after purchasing an additional 41,709 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 2,556,377 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $610,182,000 after buying an additional 9,464 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Accredited Investors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4,431.5% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,315,295 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $640,712,000 after buying an additional 2,264,202 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ ADP opened at $306.93 on Monday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $227.12 and a 52-week high of $309.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.76, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $292.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $268.30. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. The business had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.08 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This is an increase from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is currently 59.77%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $11,692,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,781,200. This represents a 54.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction of $5,253,553.86. Following the completion of the sale, 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 17.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 70,504 shares of company stock worth $20,298,056. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ADP has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on 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 downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Barclays boosted 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 report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.