Automatic Data Processing, Inc. $ADP Stake Cut by Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. has reduced its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. by 13.4%, lowering its ownership to approximately 0.10% of the company, valued at about $128.65 million.
• Analysts have varied price targets for ADP, with recent estimates ranging from $311.00 to $332.00, and a consensus rating of "Hold" with a target price of $317.00.
• Automatic Data Processing announced a quarterly dividend of $1.54 per share, translating to a yield of 2.0%, with an upcoming payment date of October 1st.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lowered its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 13.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 421,076 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 64,900 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned approximately 0.10% of Automatic Data Processing worth $128,651,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 15.7% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,431,478 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,348,805,000 after purchasing an additional 601,400 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 3.7% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,031,713 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,231,809,000 after purchasing an additional 145,161 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 16.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 22.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,059,100 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $934,647,000 after purchasing an additional 564,187 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ADP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $321.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. TD Securities increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $298.00 to $321.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Dbs Bank raised Automatic Data Processing to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Automatic Data Processing to a "hold" rating and set a $340.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $317.00.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ ADP traded up $2.33 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $301.19. 1,656,890 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,330,576. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.79 and a 1 year high of $329.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.18, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.82. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $304.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $305.33.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $5.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. Automatic Data Processing's 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. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

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