Liberty Wealth Management LLC Raises Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Key Points

• Liberty Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. by 91.0% in the first quarter, now owning 8,946 shares valued at approximately $2.7 million.
• Automatic Data Processing reported earnings per share of $2.26, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a 6.3% year-over-year revenue growth to $5.13 billion.
• Several investment firms adjusted their target prices for ADP shares, with a consensus average target at $314.33 and a general rating of "Hold" from analysts.

Liberty Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 91.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,946 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,262 shares during the quarter. Liberty Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $2,733,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,174,419 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,807,438,000 after acquiring an additional 902,354 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 26.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,136,763 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,796,415,000 after acquiring an additional 1,299,390 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,886,552 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,137,710,000 after acquiring an additional 219,032 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,830,078 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,115,909,000 after acquiring an additional 549,132 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 16.4% during the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 532,485 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

ADP opened at $300.44 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $121.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $256.47 and a 1-year high of $329.93. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $310.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $305.33.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $5.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on ADP shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $305.00 to $318.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley increased 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. UBS Group cut their target price on 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. TD Securities increased their target price 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. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price 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. One investment 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $314.33.

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.

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