Shell Asset Management Co. Grows Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. $ADP

Key Points

• Shell Asset Management Co. increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. by 45.7% during the second quarter, owning a total of 27,107 shares valued at approximately $8.36 million.
• Several institutional investors have also significantly raised their holdings in Automatic Data Processing, with activist wealth management increasing its holdings by 2,600% in the first quarter alone.
• Automatic Data Processing recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.54, representing a 2.1% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 61.72%.

Shell Asset Management Co. raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 45.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,107 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 8,497 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co.'s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $8,360,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ADP. Activest Wealth Management raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 2,600.0% during the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 81 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the first quarter valued at $29,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the first quarter valued at $30,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 58.1% in the 1st quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 117 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing to a "hold" rating and set a $340.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. UBS Group cut their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $315.00 to $290.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $316.70.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

ADP stock opened at $290.55 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $272.62 and a 52-week high of $329.93. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $298.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $303.41.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $5.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Automatic Data Processing has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.811-11.011 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th were given a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 12th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.72%.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Don Mcguire sold 13,599 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.57, for a total transaction of $4,033,055.43. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 17,684 shares in the company, valued at $5,244,543.88. This represents a 43.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 597 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.90, for a total value of $177,249.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 10,541 shares in the company, valued at $3,129,622.90. This trade represents a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,516 shares of company stock valued at $15,632,410 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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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