Banco Santander S.A. Has $1.38 Million Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Key Points

• Banco Santander S.A. increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. by 27.3% in the first quarter, owning 4,505 shares worth approximately $1.38 million.
• Several hedge funds have modified their positions in ADP, with institutional investors now owning 80.03% of the company's stock.
• ADP's recent earnings report revealed a 6.3% year-over-year revenue increase, beating estimates with reported earnings of $2.26 per share.

Banco Santander S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 27.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,505 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 967 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.'s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,376,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sentinus LLC raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Sentinus LLC now owns 1,548 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $453,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 3,686 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,079,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Detalus Advisors LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 2.4% during the first quarter. Detalus Advisors LLC now owns 1,566 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $478,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Main Street Group LTD increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 50.7% during the fourth quarter. Main Street Group LTD now owns 113 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Howard Financial Services LTD. increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.2% during the first quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 1,735 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $530,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. 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 report on Wednesday, May 21st. Mizuho lifted 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. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $323.00 to $315.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Automatic Data Processing to a "hold" rating and set a $340.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $314.33.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ ADP traded up $2.20 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $301.64. 1,844,359 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,463,220. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $258.51 and a 1 year high of $329.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $122.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.22, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The business has a 50 day moving average of $309.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $305.33.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $5.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.05 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 72.84% and a net margin of 19.84%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.09 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 Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is 61.72%.

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.