Townsquare Capital LLC Grows Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Townsquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 55,611 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,405 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $15,389,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% in the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the second quarter valued at about $40,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $307.97 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $290.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $267.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.48 billion, a PE ratio of 32.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $227.12 and a 1-year high of $309.37.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.08 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $1.54 dividend. This is a positive change from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.74%.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $11,692,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares in the company, valued at $9,781,200. This trade represents a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 19,147 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 92,807 shares in the company, valued at $25,464,384.66. This trade represents a 17.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 70,504 shares of company stock valued at $20,298,056 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $289.91.

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.