Kestra Investment Management LLC Takes $224,000 Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 811 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 70.7% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 638,507 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $152,405,000 after buying an additional 264,466 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 23.8% in the 2nd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 26,610 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,352,000 after purchasing an additional 5,114 shares during the period. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter valued at about $209,000. ORG Partners LLC grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 2,917.1% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 4,224 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $997,000 after purchasing an additional 4,084 shares during the period. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth approximately $470,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $306.03 on Tuesday. 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 market cap of $124.69 billion, a PE ratio of 32.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.79. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $292.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $268.30. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $227.12 and a 1-year 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.77 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.08 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This is a positive change from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ADP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Citigroup raised 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $289.91.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the firm’s 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. This trade represents a 20.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $11,692,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,781,200. The trade was a 54.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.