Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Bought by Edgestream Partners L.P.

Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 385.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 32,692 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 25,964 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing makes up 0.4% of Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $9,047,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Acropolis Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $132,000. Point72 Europe London LLP purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $6,669,000. Auxier Asset Management increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Auxier Asset Management now owns 7,755 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,146,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 7.8% during the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,828 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,720,000 after buying an additional 711 shares during the period. Finally, Centric Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.1% during the third quarter. Centric Wealth Management now owns 10,872 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,318,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ADP shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. 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 research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $289.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 36,741 shares in the company, valued at $9,899,862.45. This represents a 20.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Don Mcguire sold 3,179 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total value of $872,254.02. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 41,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,440,548.48. The trade was a 7.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 70,504 shares of company stock valued at $20,298,056. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

NASDAQ:ADP opened at $306.93 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $292.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $267.99. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $227.12 and a 1-year high of $309.63. The firm has a market cap of $125.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.08 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

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

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.