DnB Asset Management AS Lowers Stock Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. $ADP

Key Points

• DnB Asset Management AS reduced its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. by 8.2%, owning 134,215 shares after selling 11,934 shares in the first quarter, valued at approximately $41 million.
• Automatic Data Processing reported a better-than-expected quarterly earnings per share of $2.26, surpassing estimates and revealing year-over-year revenue growth of 6.3% to $5.13 billion.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend of $1.54 per share, representing a yield of 2.1%, with an ex-dividend date set for September 12th.

DnB Asset Management AS trimmed its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 8.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 134,215 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 11,934 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $41,007,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Banque Transatlantique SA raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 3,075.1% during the 1st quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA now owns 5,874 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,659,000 after buying an additional 5,689 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 1st quarter valued at about $18,640,000. Ancora Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 37.2% during the 1st quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 11,057 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,378,000 after buying an additional 2,999 shares in the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 64.7% during the 1st quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,365 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $723,000 after buying an additional 929 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 57.9% during the 1st quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 71,914 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $21,981,000 after buying an additional 26,360 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Joseph Desilva sold 4,614 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.57, for a total value of $1,368,373.98. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 17,536 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,200,651.52. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Don Mcguire sold 13,599 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $5,244,543.88. The trade was a 43.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 43,191 shares of company stock worth $12,850,464 over the last quarter. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ADP. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $305.00 to $318.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $323.00 to $315.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 13th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $321.00 to $332.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $317.00.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 0.8%

ADP stock traded up $2.46 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $298.43. The company had a trading volume of 1,716,554 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,721,327. 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 company has a market capitalization of $120.88 billion, a PE ratio of 29.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $304.24 and a 200 day moving average of $305.13. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $269.70 and a 12 month high of $329.93.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.03. The business 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. Automatic Data Processing has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.811-11.011 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is presently 61.72%.

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.