Swmg LLC Invests $620,000 in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Swmg LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 2,242 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $620,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the second quarter worth about $40,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research 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 given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $289.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total transaction of $2,479,748.35. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,741 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,899,862.45. The trade was a 20.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $11,692,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 32,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,781,200. This represents a 54.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of ADP stock traded down $1.69 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $301.80. 2,443,759 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,630,267. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $227.12 and a 12-month high of $309.63. The business's fifty day moving average is $294.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $269.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 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.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. The firm 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%. The business's revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.08 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. This is a positive change from Automatic Data Processing's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is presently 59.77%.

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.