Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Buys 38 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 2.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,595 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $474,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Amalgamated Bank lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 0.9% during the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 93,604 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,599,000 after purchasing an additional 837 shares during the last quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 98.2% in the first quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,256 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $689,000 after purchasing an additional 1,118 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,460 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $446,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Westfuller Advisors LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 1st quarter worth approximately $231,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 9.5% in the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,725 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $527,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 1.3%

ADP stock opened at $308.96 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $311.86 and its 200 day moving average is $303.33. The stock has a market cap of $125.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $231.27 and a 1-year high of $329.93.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $5.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.49 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.79% and a return on equity of 77.33%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.88 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were given a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 63.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 478 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.14, for a total transaction of $140,120.92. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 7,364 shares in the company, valued at $2,158,682.96. This trade represents a 6.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ADP shares. UBS Group dropped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $323.00 to $315.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Mizuho upped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $321.00 to $332.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, TD Securities raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $298.00 to $321.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.08.

About Automatic Data Processing

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.