Monte Financial Group LLC Raises Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Monte Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,634 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 173 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing comprises approximately 1.9% of Monte Financial Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Monte Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $4,603,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ADP. BlueSpruce Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the first quarter worth $365,757,000. 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 worth $678,601,000 after purchasing an additional 589,831 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 552,096 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 242.4% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 644,135 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $153,749,000 after buying an additional 456,027 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 12.0% during the second 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 during the period. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $282.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $275.33.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

NASDAQ:ADP opened at $290.04 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $118.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $278.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $257.89. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $205.53 and a 12 month high of $294.18. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $4.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.74 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 89.20% and a net margin of 19.54%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is presently 62.50%.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,816,946. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,816,946. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 88,426 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,959,908.96. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 58,817 shares of company stock valued at $15,999,208. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.