Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Purchased by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,198 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $7,501,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ADP. Everhart Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 20.1% in the 3rd quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,002 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $482,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,415 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,024,000 after acquiring an additional 585 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 152,241 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,626,000 after purchasing an additional 13,594 shares during the period. Finally, Pennsylvania Capital Management Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 31.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pennsylvania Capital Management Inc. ADV now owns 2,677 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $644,000 after purchasing an additional 646 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Joseph Desilva sold 1,904 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total transaction of $485,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 17,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,380,645. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP Joseph Desilva sold 1,904 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total transaction of $485,520.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 17,179 shares in the company, valued at $4,380,645. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 368 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.01, for a total value of $90,899.68. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,319 shares in the company, valued at $5,018,996.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,829 shares of company stock valued at $965,274. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP traded up $0.85 on Monday, reaching $242.74. The company had a trading volume of 1,108,750 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,788,093. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $205.53 and a twelve month high of $256.84. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $245.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $238.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $2.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.79 by $0.09. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 93.09% and a net margin of 19.56%. The company had revenue of $5.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.52 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.15 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ADP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 11th. Barclays lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $280.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America raised Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $217.00 to $243.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $255.42.

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.