Automatic Data Processing, Inc. $ADP Stock: Financial & Tax Architects LLC Reduces Stake

Key Points

• Financial & Tax Architects LLC reduced its ADP stake by 12.1% in the third quarter, selling 4,007 shares and retaining 29,163 shares worth approximately $7.5 million. Institutional investors collectively own 80.03% of ADP.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with three Buy, eight Hold, and one Sell rating; the consensus rating is Hold with a $273.50 price target, below ADP’s reported $285.65 opening price.
• ADP exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.64 in EPS and $5.47 billion in revenue, while revenue grew 6.8% year over year. The company also paid a $1.70 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 2.4% yield.

Financial & Tax Architects LLC decreased its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,163 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 4,007 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing accounts for about 1.6% of Financial & Tax Architects LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Financial & Tax Architects LLC's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $7,526,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Financial Harvest LLC grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Harvest LLC now owns 1,896 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $489,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 148.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 483,899 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $124,875,000 after acquiring an additional 289,268 shares during the last quarter. RDA Financial Network bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at about $223,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 14,906 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,847,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the period. Finally, Howard Financial Services LTD. raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 1,279 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $330,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ADP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $248.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $240.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $295.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Automatic Data Processing from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $273.50.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

ADP stock opened at $285.65 on Friday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $188.16 and a 1-year high of $289.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $113.19 billion, a PE ratio of 25.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.83. The business's 50-day moving average price is $272.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $241.88.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $2.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 71.34% and a net margin of 20.11%. The company had revenue of $5.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.26 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Automatic Data Processing has set its FY 2027 guidance at 12.120-12.340 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 12.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th were issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 11th. Automatic Data Processing's payout ratio is 62.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Maria Black sold 29,810 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $8,373,927.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 80,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,648,087.84. The trade was a 26.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP David Kwon sold 2,414 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.62, for a total value of $641,206.68. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 9,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,565,889.20. The trade was a 19.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 33,773 shares of company stock worth $9,450,629. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company's stock.

Automatic Data Processing Profile

Automatic Data Processing, Inc NASDAQ: ADP is a provider of human capital management and business outsourcing solutions. The company helps organizations manage payroll, tax withholding and compliance, employee benefits, time and attendance, workforce management, talent acquisition, and human resources administration.

ADP offers cloud-based platforms and related services designed for businesses of different sizes, from small companies to large multinational employers. Its offerings include payroll and HR software, workforce analytics, talent management tools, retirement and insurance-related administration, and professional employer organization services through ADP TotalSource.

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