Clearbridge Investments LLC Buys 56,767 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 850,550 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 56,767 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 0.21% of Automatic Data Processing worth $203,018,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 47.2% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 3,319 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $773,000 after buying an additional 1,064 shares during the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 29.8% in the fourth quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 4,248 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $990,000 after acquiring an additional 975 shares in the last quarter. Holderness Investments Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Edge Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 7,132 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,662,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares during the period. Finally, Fairview Capital Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Fairview Capital Investment Management LLC now owns 2,240 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $522,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ADP. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $267.83.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total transaction of $7,164,724.32. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 88,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,959,908.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total value of $7,164,724.32. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 88,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,959,908.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 19,147 shares of Automatic Data Processing 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 92,807 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,464,384.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 58,817 shares of company stock worth $15,999,208. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

NASDAQ:ADP opened at $280.08 on Wednesday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $205.53 and a 52-week high of $281.54. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $268.86 and a 200 day moving average of $253.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.79.

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

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.50%.

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.