Centric Wealth Management Boosts Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Centric Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,872 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Centric Wealth Management’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $3,318,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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 worth $27,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the first quarter worth 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 owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Don Mcguire sold 3,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total transaction of $872,254.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 41,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,440,548.48. This represents a 7.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 19,147 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 92,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,464,384.66. This represents a 17.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 70,504 shares of company stock worth $20,298,056. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on ADP. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of ADP opened at $306.92 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $291.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $267.58. The company has a market cap of $125.06 billion, a PE ratio of 32.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $227.12 and a 12-month high of $309.63.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released 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. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. The business had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.08 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 boost from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.77%.

About Automatic Data Processing

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.