Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. Raises Stock Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 74,255 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 258 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing makes up approximately 2.2% of Richard C. Young & CO. LTD.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $20,549,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 153.8% in the first quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 9,907 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,488,000 after acquiring an additional 6,004 shares in the last quarter. Puzo Michael J boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 5.8% in the first quarter. Puzo Michael J now owns 50,533 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,620,000 after acquiring an additional 2,760 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 93.4% in the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 88,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $21,977,000 after acquiring an additional 42,495 shares in the last quarter. Pitcairn Co. boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 2.5% in the first quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 10,374 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,591,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, InterOcean Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 23.2% in the first quarter. InterOcean Capital Group LLC now owns 4,846 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,210,000 after acquiring an additional 912 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 1.4 %

ADP opened at $297.64 on Monday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $227.12 and a fifty-two week high of $309.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a fifty day moving average of $287.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $264.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.77, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.08 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors 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 2.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This is a boost from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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 note on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $289.91.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

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 value of $228,927.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 10,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,816,946. This represents a 7.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total value of $7,164,724.32. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 88,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,959,908.96. This trade represents a 23.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 97,792 shares of company stock valued at $27,691,708. Corporate insiders own 0.21% 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.