Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Bought by SouthState Corp

SouthState Corp lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 4.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,605 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 701 shares during the period. SouthState Corp’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $5,379,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 0.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,949,884 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,511,418,000 after acquiring an additional 218,614 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,174,419 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,807,438,000 after purchasing an additional 902,354 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 26.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,136,763 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,796,415,000 after purchasing an additional 1,299,390 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 3.7% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,031,713 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,231,809,000 after purchasing an additional 145,161 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,830,078 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,115,909,000 after purchasing an additional 549,132 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

NASDAQ ADP opened at $305.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $258.63 and a 1 year high of $329.93. The company has a market capitalization of $123.87 billion, a PE ratio of 30.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a fifty day moving average of $308.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $305.47.

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

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $305.00 to $318.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets raised Automatic Data Processing to a “hold” rating and set a $340.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. UBS Group cut their price objective 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. Finally, TD Securities upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $298.00 to $321.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $314.33.

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.