Ancora Advisors LLC Acquires 2,999 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. $ADP

Key Points

• Ancora Advisors LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP) by 37.2% in Q1, owning a total of 11,057 shares valued at approximately $3.38 million.
• Analysts have a mixed sentiment on ADP, with a majority issuing a Hold rating and an average target price of $317.00, despite some upgrades from various institutions.
• Automatic Data Processing recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.54 per share, translating to an annual yield of 2.1%.

Ancora Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 37.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,057 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,999 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $3,378,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aprio Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 64.7% during the first quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,365 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $723,000 after purchasing an additional 929 shares in the last quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 57.9% in the first quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 71,914 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $21,981,000 after purchasing an additional 26,360 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.6% in the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,530 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $7,189,000 after purchasing an additional 1,043 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 4.1% during the first quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 883 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $270,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 19.2% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 11,776 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,598,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ADP. TD Securities upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $298.00 to $321.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $305.00 to $318.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $323.00 to $315.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Automatic Data Processing to a "hold" rating and set a $340.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $317.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, CEO Maria Black sold 23,605 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.32, for a total transaction of $7,041,843.60. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Don Mcguire sold 13,599 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.57, for a total transaction of $4,033,055.43. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 17,684 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,244,543.88. This trade represents a 43.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 43,191 shares of company stock valued at $12,850,464 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ ADP traded up $2.46 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $298.43. The stock had a trading volume of 1,679,213 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,719,570. The business's 50 day moving average is $304.24 and its 200-day moving average is $305.13. The company has a market cap of $120.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.90, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.82. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $269.70 and a 52 week high of $329.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $5.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.05 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.84% and a return on equity of 72.84%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. Automatic Data Processing has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.811-11.011 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.