Renaissance Technologies LLC Invests $27.04 Million in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 113,300 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $27,044,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. Keener Financial Planning LLC lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 230.3% during the first quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC now owns 109 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 0.6 %

ADP stock opened at $277.69 on Friday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $205.53 and a 1-year high of $281.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company has a market capitalization of $113.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.99, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $263.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $251.30.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $4.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.74 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 89.20% and a net margin of 19.54%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 10.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total value of $2,479,748.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 36,741 shares in the company, valued at $9,899,862.45. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total value of $2,479,748.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 36,741 shares in the company, valued at $9,899,862.45. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Don Mcguire sold 3,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total value of $872,254.02. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 41,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,440,548.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 58,817 shares of company stock worth $15,999,208 over the last three months. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ADP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $267.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $282.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $265.36.

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.