Smith Salley Wealth Management Buys 8,853 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. $ADP

Smith Salley Wealth Management raised its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 945.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,789 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,853 shares during the period. Smith Salley Wealth Management’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $2,873,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Solstein Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 80.0% during the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 90 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on ADP shares. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective (down from $245.00) on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Citigroup started coverage on Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $303.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $288.00 to $272.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $340.00 to $295.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $306.42.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of ADP opened at $259.50 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $259.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $285.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $247.18 and a twelve month high of $329.93. The firm has a market cap of $104.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.62 and a beta of 0.86.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.79% and a return on equity of 70.63%. The firm had revenue of $5.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.33 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. This is an increase from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.54. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.13%.

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.