Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Stock Holdings Increased by Townsquare Capital LLC

Key Points

• Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. by 6.3%, acquiring an additional 3,532 shares, bringing their total to 59,922 shares valued at $18,308,000.
• Automatic Data Processing recently reported earnings of $2.26 per share, exceeding expectations and showing a 6.3% increase in revenue compared to the same quarter last year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.54 per share, which will be distributed on October 1st, reflecting an annual yield of 2.0%.

Townsquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 6.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 59,922 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,532 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $18,308,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 92.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,026 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,935,000 after acquiring an additional 4,808 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at $957,000. FMR LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,268,211 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $371,243,000 after purchasing an additional 7,082 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 158.1% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 11,310 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,311,000 after purchasing an additional 6,928 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CenterBook Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth about $1,958,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on ADP. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $305.00 to $318.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Automatic Data Processing to a "hold" rating and set a $340.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. TD Securities raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $298.00 to $321.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Mizuho raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $321.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $314.33.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ADP traded down $3.77 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $299.96. 512,657 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,742,269. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $307.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $305.58. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $259.08 and a 52 week high of $329.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.81.

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, 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 company had revenue of $5.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.09 EPS. Automatic Data Processing's quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 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.