5,078 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. $ADP Acquired by M Holdings Securities Inc.

Key Points

• M Holdings Securities acquired a new 5,078-share stake in ADP during the third quarter, worth approximately $1.31 million; institutional investors own about 80% of the stock.
• ADP reported quarterly earnings of $2.82 per share, beating estimates of $2.77, while revenue rose 6.1% year over year to $5.49 billion.
• Analysts maintain a consensus Hold rating with a $285 price target. Company insiders sold 50,207 shares worth about $14.5 million over the past 90 days.

M Holdings Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 5,078 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,310,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.2% during the third quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,694 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,276,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. Uhlmann Price Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at $621,000. Ethic Inc. raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 91,126 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $23,516,000 after purchasing an additional 3,432 shares during the last quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth $373,000. Finally, Verus Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth $204,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ADP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $287.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $286.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $248.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Three investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $285.00.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.4%

NASDAQ:ADP opened at $302.06 on Tuesday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $188.16 and a 52 week high of $310.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm's fifty day moving average is $279.47 and its 200-day moving average is $242.14. The firm has a market cap of $119.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.77.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $5.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.48 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 20.33% and a return on equity of 77.01%. Automatic Data Processing's quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.49 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 12.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 770 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.35, for a total value of $231,269.50. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 4,961 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,490,036.35. The trade was a 13.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 6,812 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $2,111,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 81,849 shares in the company, valued at $25,373,190. This represents a 7.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 50,207 shares of company stock worth $14,522,300. 0.15% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Profile

Automatic Data Processing, Inc (ADP) provides payroll processing and human resources technology and services to businesses of varying sizes. Its offerings include payroll administration, tax filing, benefits administration, workforce management, talent management, and human capital management software.

ADP also provides services such as compliance support and professional employer organization solutions, which help businesses manage employment responsibilities. Its products combine software with payroll and HR services to support organizations' workforce operations.

Founded in 1949 as Automatic Payrolls, Inc, the company has grown from a payroll-processing business into a global provider of HR and workforce solutions.

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