Benjamin Edwards Inc. Grows Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 1,628.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 196,922 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 185,532 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing comprises about 0.8% of Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $54,509,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ:ADP traded down $0.90 on Monday, reaching $306.03. 1,279,175 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,628,134. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a fifty day moving average of $292.45 and a 200-day moving average of $268.30. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $227.12 and a 52-week high of $309.63.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. The company had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.08 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. This is an increase from Automatic Data Processing's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is 59.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on ADP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $289.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $11,692,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 32,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,781,200. This trade represents a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 19,147 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total value of $5,253,553.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 92,807 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,464,384.66. The trade was a 17.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 70,504 shares of company stock worth $20,298,056. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Automatic Data Processing Company 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.