MQS Management LLC Invests $296,000 in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,239 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $296,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 5,698 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,360,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,645 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,302,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 863 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $206,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 0.8% during the first quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 5,581 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,402,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Patron Partners LLC raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 1.6% during the first quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 2,733 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $683,000 after acquiring an additional 44 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 related news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total transaction of $2,479,748.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 36,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,899,862.45. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Automatic Data Processing news, CEO Maria Black sold 19,147 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 transaction of $5,253,553.86. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 92,807 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,464,384.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the company’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 owns 36,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,899,862.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 58,817 shares of company stock worth $15,999,208. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ADP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $267.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $265.36.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $276.41 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $205.53 and a 12 month high of $281.54. The company has a market capitalization of $113.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.85, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $264.76 and its 200 day moving average is $251.51.

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

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.50%.

Automatic Data Processing 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.