5,497,545 Shares in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. $ADP Bought by Bank of America Corp DE

Key Points

• Bank of America acquired 5.5 million ADP shares worth approximately $1.23 billion, giving it a 1.38% stake. Institutional investors collectively own about 80% of the company.
• ADP reported quarterly EPS of $2.64, exceeding estimates, while revenue rose 6.8% year over year to $5.47 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.70, representing a 2.5% annualized yield.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $273.50, despite recent target increases; ADP shares opened at $276.63 and have traded between $188.16 and $294.93 over the past year.

Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,497,545 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,231,175,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 1.38% of Automatic Data Processing as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 2nd quarter valued at about $8,097,229,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,940,841 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,903,769,000 after buying an additional 133,039 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,576,572 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,977,777,000 after buying an additional 136,876 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,393,607 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,159,088,000 after buying an additional 372,413 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the second quarter valued at $994,937,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ADP shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $248.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Citigroup boosted their price objective 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 lifted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $248.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $295.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $273.50.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 3.1%

NASDAQ ADP opened at $276.63 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $109.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.82. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $188.16 and a 12 month high of $294.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a 50-day moving average of $266.66 and a 200-day moving average of $232.81.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $2.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 20.11% and a return on equity of 71.34%. The business had revenue of $5.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.44 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.26 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Automatic Data Processing has set its FY 2027 guidance at 12.120-12.340 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 12.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.16%.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Joseph Desilva sold 631 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.87, for a total transaction of $178,490.97. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 18,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,324,744.88. The trade was a 3.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Brian Michaud sold 120 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.70, for a total value of $33,564.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 18,442 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,158,227.40. The trade was a 0.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 33,773 shares of company stock worth $9,450,629 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Automatic Data Processing Company Profile

Automatic Data Processing, Inc NASDAQ: ADP is a provider of human capital management (HCM) solutions and business outsourcing services. The company helps organizations manage payroll, employment taxes, human resources administration, employee benefits, workforce management, talent management, and compliance.

ADP offers cloud-based products for businesses of different sizes, including payroll and HR platforms, time and attendance tools, recruiting and talent solutions, benefits administration, and data and analytics services.

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