E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Makes New Investment in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. $ADP

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 15,518 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,475,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,895 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $488,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Nordwand Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordwand Advisors LLC now owns 3,205 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $824,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,784 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $716,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Guardian Partners Inc. increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Guardian Partners Inc. now owns 5,127 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,044,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC now owns 892 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP David Kwon sold 2,414 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.62, for a total transaction of $641,206.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 9,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,565,889.20. This represents a 19.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 2.9%

Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $277.22 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $247.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $225.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $110.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.34 and a beta of 0.81. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $188.16 and a 52 week high of $310.08.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $2.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $5.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.44 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 20.11% and a return on equity of 71.34%. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.26 earnings per share. Automatic Data Processing has set its FY 2027 guidance at 12.120-12.340 EPS. Analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 12.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is 62.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $230.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $248.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $240.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $273.50.

Automatic Data Processing Company Profile

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.