Korea Investment CORP Trims Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. $ADP

Korea Investment CORP reduced its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 10.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 316,637 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 37,703 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $92,933,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 141.5% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 13,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,899,000 after buying an additional 7,782 shares in the last quarter. Mitchell Capital Management Co. grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 325.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mitchell Capital Management Co. now owns 6,800 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,996,000 after acquiring an additional 5,200 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 136.0% in the 3rd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 47,974 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,080,000 after acquiring an additional 27,644 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.6% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 183,561 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $53,875,000 after acquiring an additional 4,720 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 18.4% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 138,215 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,566,000 after acquiring an additional 21,444 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,000 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.18, for a total value of $234,180.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 15,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,585,295.80. This trade represents a 6.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP David Foskett sold 266 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.00, for a total value of $63,042.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 10,954 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,596,098. The trade was a 2.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,515 shares of company stock valued at $887,074. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ADP shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $311.00 to $274.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $295.00 to $275.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $306.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $230.00 target price (down from $245.00) on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $303.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $290.00.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of ADP opened at $226.29 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $238.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $263.15. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $203.26 and a fifty-two week high of $329.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.11 billion, a PE ratio of 21.76 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $5.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.34 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.96% and a return on equity of 68.44%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.35 earnings per share. Automatic Data Processing has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.091-11.011 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, January 14th that permits the company to buyback $6.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to purchase up to 5.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.38%.

Automatic Data Processing Company 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.