J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Increases Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. $ADP

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 21.5% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 12,556 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,219 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $3,872,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ADP. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 2,600.0% during the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 81 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Solstein Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 80.0% during the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 90 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Joseph Desilva sold 4,614 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.57, for a total transaction of $1,368,373.98. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 17,536 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,200,651.52. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 597 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.90, for a total transaction of $177,249.30. Following the sale, the vice president owned 10,541 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,129,622.90. This trade represents a 5.36% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 52,516 shares of company stock worth $15,632,410 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ADP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $305.00 to $318.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $303.00 price target for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $312.67.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $254.33 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $273.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $295.74. The stock has a market cap of $102.86 billion, a PE ratio of 25.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.86. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $247.18 and a one year high of $329.93.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $5.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.14 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 70.63% and a net margin of 19.79%.The business’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.33 earnings per share. Automatic Data Processing has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.811-11.011 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $1.70 dividend. This is a positive change from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.54. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is currently 67.13%.

Automatic Data Processing Company 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.