Polaris Wealth Advisory Group LLC Takes Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)
by Doug Wharley · The Cerbat GemPolaris Wealth Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP – Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 10,812 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,601,000.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 103,224.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 44,739,436 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,833,281,000 after purchasing an additional 44,696,136 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,980,729 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,974,083,000 after purchasing an additional 321,355 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,010,014 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,629,852,000 after purchasing an additional 794,328 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,318,629 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,044,155,000 after purchasing an additional 297,397 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,472,075 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,862,077,000 after purchasing an additional 364,284 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.37% of the company’s stock.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Don Mcguire sold 2,380 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.91, for a total value of $568,605.80. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 20,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,937,075.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research analysts have recently commented on ADP shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group began coverage on Automatic Data Processing in a report on Tuesday, November 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $235.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on Automatic Data Processing in a report on Tuesday, September 5th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $267.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $285.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $248.54.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on ADP
Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance
Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $234.85 on Tuesday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $201.46 and a 12 month high of $256.84. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $231.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $235.65. The firm has a market cap of $96.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.
Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 25th. The business services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 102.59% and a net margin of 19.07%. The company had revenue of $4.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.52 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 8th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 7th. This is an increase from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.59%.
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.
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