Legal & General Group Plc Invests $562.42 Million in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. $ADP

Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,511,388 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $562,425,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2,740.0% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Finally, Prosperity Bancshares Inc bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

NASDAQ ADP opened at $283.01 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $250.86 and its 200-day moving average is $226.50. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $188.16 and a 12-month high of $307.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $112.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.87 and a beta of 0.81.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $2.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $5.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.44 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 20.11% and a return on equity of 71.34%. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.26 EPS. Automatic Data Processing has set its FY 2027 guidance at 12.120-12.340 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 12.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is presently 62.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on ADP. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $240.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $216.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $295.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $248.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $273.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 120 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.70, for a total transaction of $33,564.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 18,442 shares in the company, valued at $5,158,227.40. This represents a 0.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP David Kwon sold 798 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $223,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 13,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,694,040. The trade was a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,332 shares of company stock worth $898,211. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Profile

Automatic Data Processing, Inc (ADP) is a global provider of cloud-based human capital management (HCM) and payroll solutions. Founded in 1949 and headquartered in Roseland, New Jersey, ADP began as a payroll processing company and has evolved into a diversified provider of workforce management, HR, benefits administration, tax and compliance services, and analytics for employers of all sizes.

ADP’s product portfolio includes payroll processing and tax filing, time and attendance systems, benefits administration, talent management, and HR outsourcing.