Capital Research Global Investors Raises Stock Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. $ADP

Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,021,194 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 116,074 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors owned 1.98% of Automatic Data Processing worth $2,354,220,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ADP. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,689,633 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,235,907,000 after purchasing an additional 389,451 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,782,407 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,820,445,000 after buying an additional 187,415 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,388,935 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,511,698,000 after acquiring an additional 345,798 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 30,110.7% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,668,758 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,439,845,000 after purchasing an additional 4,653,304 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 13.5% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,576,681 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,411,449,000 after buying an additional 544,968 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ADP has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup decreased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $303.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $306.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $280.00 to $270.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $230.00 price objective (down from $245.00) on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Monday, December 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $290.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP David Foskett sold 266 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.00, for a total value of $63,042.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 10,954 shares in the company, valued at $2,596,098. This trade represents a 2.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 543 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.29, for a total transaction of $142,423.47. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 9,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,622,375.42. The trade was a 5.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 3,515 shares of company stock worth $887,074 in the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ADP opened at $223.04 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $203.26 and a fifty-two week high of $329.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.80 billion, a PE ratio of 21.45 and a beta of 0.86. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $238.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $262.25.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 68.44% and a net margin of 19.96%.The firm had revenue of $5.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.35 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Automatic Data Processing has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.091-11.011 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is 65.38%.

Automatic Data Processing announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, January 14th that permits the company to buyback $6.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 5.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

About Automatic Data Processing

Automatic Data Processing, Inc (ADP) is a global provider of cloud-based human capital management (HCM) and payroll solutions. Founded in 1949 and headquartered in Roseland, New Jersey, ADP began as a payroll processing company and has evolved into a diversified provider of workforce management, HR, benefits administration, tax and compliance services, and analytics for employers of all sizes.

ADP’s product portfolio includes payroll processing and tax filing, time and attendance systems, benefits administration, talent management, and HR outsourcing.