Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Increases Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 51.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 43,300 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 14,755 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $11,982,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ADP shares. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group upped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP traded down $0.12 during trading on Friday, hitting $304.73. 1,552,646 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,607,719. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $225.38 and a 1-year high of $306.92. The company has a market capitalization of $124.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.79. The business's 50 day moving average is $284.12 and its 200-day moving average is $261.93.

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

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This is an increase from Automatic Data Processing's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is 59.77%.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total value of $2,479,748.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,899,862.45. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Automatic Data Processing news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total value of $2,479,748.35. Following the sale, the director now owns 36,741 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,899,862.45. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total transaction of $228,927.60. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 10,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,816,946. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 97,792 shares of company stock valued at $27,691,708 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

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.