Granite Investment Partners LLC Sells 2,373 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. $ADP

Granite Investment Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 6.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,343 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,373 shares during the quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $10,667,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 92.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,026 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,935,000 after acquiring an additional 4,808 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 22.8% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 3,664 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,073,000 after acquiring an additional 681 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 21.8% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 1,259 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $388,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 26.8% in the second quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 2,463 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $759,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the period. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 847 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $261,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 0.7%

ADP opened at $214.47 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $86.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.62 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $247.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $269.05. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $208.62 and a fifty-two week high of $329.93.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $5.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.35 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Automatic Data Processing has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.091-11.011 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, January 14th that permits the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to buy up to 5.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP David Foskett sold 266 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.00, for a total value of $63,042.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 10,954 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,596,098. This represents a 2.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 543 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.29, for a total value of $142,423.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 9,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,622,375.42. The trade was a 5.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 3,515 shares of company stock valued at $887,074 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on ADP shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $272.00 to $262.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective (down from $245.00) on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $306.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $303.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $280.00 to $270.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $290.00.

Automatic Data Processing 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.