Plato Investment Management Ltd Sells 4,157 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. $ADP

Key Points

• Plato Investment Management Ltd reduced its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. by 14.3%, now holding 24,817 shares, valued at approximately $7.67 million.
• Insider transactions include CEO Maria Black selling 23,605 shares valued at over $7 million, reducing her ownership by 23.66%.
• Automatic Data Processing reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, with an EPS of $2.26, and has set FY 2026 guidance between $10.811 to $11.011 EPS.

Plato Investment Management Ltd cut its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 14.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,817 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 4,157 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing comprises approximately 0.6% of Plato Investment Management Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Plato Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $7,665,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ADP. Sentinus LLC grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Sentinus LLC now owns 1,548 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $453,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 779 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $238,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,371 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,030,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 883 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $270,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Detalus Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Detalus Advisors LLC now owns 1,566 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $478,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP traded down $4.53 on Friday, hitting $293.50. 1,100,046 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,434,094. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $272.18 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. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $303.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $304.62. The company has a market cap of $118.88 billion, a PE ratio of 29.41, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.82.

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

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

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 paid a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Automatic Data Processing's payout ratio is currently 61.72%.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, CEO Maria Black sold 23,605 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.32, for a total value of $7,041,843.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 76,161 shares in the company, valued at $22,720,349.52. The trade was a 23.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Joseph Desilva sold 4,614 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.57, for a total value of $1,368,373.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 17,536 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,200,651.52. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 52,516 shares of company stock valued at $15,632,410. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ADP shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Dbs Bank upgraded Automatic Data Processing to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Mizuho raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $321.00 to $332.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $305.00 to $318.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $317.00.

Automatic Data Processing 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.