Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 22.6% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,059,100 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 564,187 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $934,647,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ADP. von Borstel & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the first quarter valued at $30,000. Main Street Group LTD increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 50.7% in the 4th quarter. Main Street Group LTD now owns 113 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 58.1% in the 1st quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 117 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Banque de Luxembourg S.A. bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $301.64 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $122.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.22, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $308.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $305.30. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $258.51 and a 52 week high of $329.93.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $5.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.05 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 72.84% and a net margin of 19.84%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.09 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 61.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ADP. TD Securities lifted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $298.00 to $321.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $321.00 to $332.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $323.00 to $315.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Automatic Data Processing to a “hold” rating and set a $340.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $314.33.

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.