Wealthfront Advisers LLC Purchases New Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. $ADP

Key Points

• Wealthfront Advisers purchased 74,503 shares of Automatic Data Processing in the second quarter, valued at approximately $16.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 80.03% of ADP’s outstanding stock.
• ADP reported quarterly EPS of $2.64, exceeding estimates of $2.59, while revenue rose 6.8% year over year to $5.47 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.70 per share, equivalent to a 2.5% annual yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $273.50. ADP shares opened at $269.31, while a company vice president recently sold 2,414 shares under a pre-arranged trading plan.

Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 74,503 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $16,685,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. Horizon Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 34.1% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 26,144 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $6,725,000 after buying an additional 6,655 shares in the last quarter. Compass Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Compass Capital Management Inc. now owns 203,710 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $52,400,000 after acquiring an additional 5,899 shares in the last quarter. DNB Asset Management AS lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 152,697 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $39,278,000 after acquiring an additional 15,287 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 192.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 7,165 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,605,000 after acquiring an additional 4,711 shares during the period. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth about $3,054,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP David Kwon sold 2,414 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.62, for a total value of $641,206.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 9,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,565,889.20. This represents a 19.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on ADP shares. Mizuho dropped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $332.00 to $305.00 in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $295.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $240.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Argus cut their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $300.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $273.50.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 1.2%

NASDAQ:ADP opened at $269.31 on Wednesday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $246.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $225.48. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $188.16 and a 52 week high of $310.08. The company has a market capitalization of $106.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.62 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $2.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $5.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.44 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 20.11% and a return on equity of 71.34%. The company's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.26 earnings per share. Automatic Data Processing has set its FY 2027 guidance at 12.120-12.340 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 12.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Automatic Data Processing's payout ratio is presently 62.16%.

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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