AlphaQuest LLC Buys 5,337 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. $ADP

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC significantly increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. by 1,607.5% during the first quarter, owning 5,669 shares valued at approximately $1.73 million.
• Automatic Data Processing reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.26, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.23, along with a revenue of $5.13 billion which was higher than anticipated.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.54 per share, with a 2.0% yield and a payout ratio of 61.72%.

AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 1,607.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,669 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,337 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,732,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 92.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,026 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,935,000 after buying an additional 4,808 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth $957,000. Burling Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at about $449,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 11,020 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,226,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 9,739 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,851,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ADP. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. 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 research report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. TD Securities lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $298.00 to $321.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $321.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $317.00.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $303.09. 1,077,009 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,724,935. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.76 billion, a PE ratio of 30.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.81. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $304.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $305.58. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.79 and a 12 month high of $329.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05.

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

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Automatic Data Processing's payout ratio is 61.72%.

Automatic Data Processing Company Profile

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.