Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Buys 4,093 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,443 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,093 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $5,934,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ADP. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% in the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the first quarter worth $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the first quarter worth about $36,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

ADP stock traded down $0.41 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $307.50. 1,637,821 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,634,625. The company has a market capitalization of $125.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company has a 50-day moving average of $285.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $262.92. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $227.12 and a twelve month high of $309.37.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. Automatic Data Processing's revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.08 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. This is a boost from Automatic Data Processing's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Automatic Data Processing's payout ratio is 65.74%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total transaction of $7,164,724.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 88,426 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,959,908.96. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total transaction of $7,164,724.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 88,426 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,959,908.96. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total transaction of $2,479,748.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 36,741 shares in the company, valued at $9,899,862.45. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 97,792 shares of company stock valued at $27,691,708 over the last quarter. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ADP. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. UBS Group increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $289.91.

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.