Fayez Sarofim & Co Lowers Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Key Points

• Fayez Sarofim & Co reduced its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. by 0.3%, now owning approximately 1.35 million shares valued at $413.6 million.
• Analysts have raised their target prices for ADP, with Mizuho setting a new price objective of $332.00 and a consensus target price of $314.33, indicating a generally optimistic outlook.
• Automatic Data Processing recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.54 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 2.0% and a payout ratio of 61.72%.

Fayez Sarofim & Co reduced its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 0.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,353,567 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 4,691 shares during the quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co owned about 0.33% of Automatic Data Processing worth $413,556,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 29.6% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 565 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $173,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 13.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,495 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,901,000 after buying an additional 1,148 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 236,707 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $69,290,000 after buying an additional 21,910 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 250,836 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $76,638,000 after acquiring an additional 20,467 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 3,384 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,034,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ADP. TD Securities increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $298.00 to $321.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted 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 report on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on 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. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $321.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, June 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $314.33.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ ADP traded up $2.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $305.81. The company had a trading volume of 879,374 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,494,130. The business's 50-day moving average is $308.13 and its 200-day moving average is $305.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $258.63 and a 52 week high of $329.93. The stock has a market cap of $123.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.81.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 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.