Acadian Asset Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. $ADP

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. by 7.0%, owning 327,322 shares valued at approximately $99.986 million.
• Automatic Data Processing reported a quarterly EPS of $2.26, exceeding the consensus estimate by $0.03, and its revenue increased by 6.3% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.54 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.1%, with the payment scheduled for October 1st.

Acadian Asset Management LLC lessened its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 7.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 327,322 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 24,525 shares during the quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned 0.08% of Automatic Data Processing worth $99,986,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 0.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,949,884 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $12,511,418,000 after purchasing an additional 218,614 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 15.7% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,431,478 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,348,805,000 after acquiring an additional 601,400 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,031,713 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,231,809,000 after acquiring an additional 145,161 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 2.0% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 3,848,307 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,175,773,000 after purchasing an additional 77,296 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,771,011 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,103,888,000 after purchasing an additional 532,485 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of ADP stock traded down $1.91 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $291.59. 317,886 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,709,219. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $272.18 and a 52-week high of $329.93. The stock has a market cap of $118.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The stock's fifty day moving average is $303.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $304.58.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.03. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.84% and a return on equity of 72.84%. The firm had revenue of $5.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Automatic Data Processing has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.811-11.011 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on ADP. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing to a "hold" rating and set a $340.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group cut their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $323.00 to $315.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Dbs Bank raised shares of Automatic Data Processing to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $317.00.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 8,728 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.43, for a total transaction of $2,604,697.04. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 80,531 shares in the company, valued at $24,032,866.33. This represents a 9.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 23,605 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.32, for a total transaction of $7,041,843.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 76,161 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,720,349.52. This represents a 23.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,516 shares of company stock worth $15,632,410 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

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.