Chesapeake Wealth Management Purchases 85 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Chesapeake Wealth Management lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,062 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $253,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlueSpruce Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the first quarter valued at approximately $365,757,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,543,317 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $825,487,000 after acquiring an additional 649,791 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 27.7% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,715,382 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $678,601,000 after acquiring an additional 589,831 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 238.1% in the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 784,003 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $195,797,000 after purchasing an additional 552,096 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 39,596,142 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,224,713,000 after purchasing an additional 412,434 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on ADP. StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $282.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $265.36.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $276.41 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $113.13 billion, a PE ratio of 30.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.79. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $264.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $251.51.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted 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 company had revenue of $4.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.74 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 89.20% and a net margin of 19.54%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total transaction of $228,927.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,816,946. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Maria Black sold 19,147 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total value of $5,253,553.86. Following the completion of the sale, 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total transaction of $228,927.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,816,946. 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. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.