Meritage Portfolio Management Raises Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. $ADP

Key Points

• Meritage Portfolio Management boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 662.4% in Q4, adding 12,055 shares to hold 13,875 shares worth about $3.57 million, while institutional investors own roughly 80.03% of the company.
• ADP’s board authorized a $6.0 billion share buyback (up to ~5.8% of shares) and the company pays a quarterly dividend of $1.70 (3.4% yield); ADP also beat Q4 EPS estimates and set FY‑2026 guidance of 10.091–11.011 EPS.
• Analysts have trimmed targets recently and the consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $273.85, following downgrades from firms including JPMorgan and Wells Fargo.

Meritage Portfolio Management lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 662.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,875 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,055 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $3,569,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ADP. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 141.5% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 13,283 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,899,000 after purchasing an additional 7,782 shares during the last quarter. Mitchell Capital Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 325.0% during the third quarter. Mitchell Capital Management Co. now owns 6,800 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,996,000 after buying an additional 5,200 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 136.0% in the third quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 47,974 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $14,080,000 after buying an additional 27,644 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.6% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 183,561 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $53,875,000 after buying an additional 4,720 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 18.4% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 138,215 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $40,566,000 after buying an additional 21,444 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.18, for a total transaction of $234,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 15,310 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,585,295.80. The trade was a 6.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP David Foskett sold 266 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.00, for a total value of $63,042.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 10,954 shares in the company, valued at $2,596,098. This represents a 2.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 1,809 shares of company stock worth $410,410 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ADP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $295.00 to $275.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $262.00 to $214.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $280.00 to $270.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $311.00 to $274.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $273.85.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

ADP opened at $202.87 on Wednesday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $208.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $242.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $188.16 and a 1 year high of $329.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.68 billion, a PE ratio of 19.51 and a beta of 0.85.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.96% and a return on equity of 68.44%. The firm had revenue of $5.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.35 earnings per share. Automatic Data Processing's revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Automatic Data Processing has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.091-11.011 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 10.96 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, January 14th that allows the company to buyback $6.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to purchase up to 5.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Automatic Data Processing's payout ratio is currently 65.38%.

Automatic Data Processing Company Profile

Automatic Data Processing, Inc (ADP) is a global provider of cloud-based human capital management (HCM) and payroll solutions. Founded in 1949 and headquartered in Roseland, New Jersey, ADP began as a payroll processing company and has evolved into a diversified provider of workforce management, HR, benefits administration, tax and compliance services, and analytics for employers of all sizes.

ADP's product portfolio includes payroll processing and tax filing, time and attendance systems, benefits administration, talent management, and HR outsourcing.

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