Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. $ADP

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 160,923 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,575 shares during the quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $47,231,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 141.5% in the third 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. raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 325.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mitchell Capital Management Co. now owns 6,800 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,996,000 after buying an additional 5,200 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 136.0% during the 3rd 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 boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 2.6% during the 3rd 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 period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 18.4% during the 3rd 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 company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.18, for a total transaction of $234,180.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 15,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,585,295.80. This represents a 6.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 $2,622,375.42. This represents a 5.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 3,515 shares of company stock worth $887,074 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on ADP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective 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. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $306.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $311.00 to $274.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group restated an “underperform” rating and set a $230.00 price target (down from $245.00) on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target 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. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $290.00.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ ADP opened at $208.52 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $234.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $259.63. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $203.26 and a 12 month high of $329.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.96 billion, a PE ratio of 20.05 and a beta of 0.86.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.35 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter 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. Equities analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is presently 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.