Marotta Asset Management Invests $298,000 in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Marotta Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,354 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $298,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,010,014 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,629,852,000 after purchasing an additional 794,328 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,045,455 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,157,923,000 after purchasing an additional 123,725 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,586,824 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,051,049,000 after purchasing an additional 822,790 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 94,265.5% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,770,728 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,617,256,000 after purchasing an additional 6,763,553 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,182,839 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,153,855,000 after purchasing an additional 20,771 shares during the period. 79.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of ADP stock traded down $0.51 on Thursday, reaching $247.30. 67,096 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,783,437. The company has a market cap of $101.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $244.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $226.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $201.46 and a 1 year high of $274.92.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The business services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $4.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.39 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 18.94% and a return on equity of 107.15%. Automatic Data Processing’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.50 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 7th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is presently 60.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $240.00 to $260.00 in a report on Thursday, July 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 22nd. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $255.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 17th. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Tuesday, September 5th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $267.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $249.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 58,864 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.42, for a total transaction of $14,740,722.88. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 44,859 shares in the company, valued at $11,233,590.78. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Automatic Data Processing news, insider Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 58,864 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.42, for a total value of $14,740,722.88. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 44,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,233,590.78. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Don Mcguire sold 3,880 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.90, for a total transaction of $985,132.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,665 shares in the company, valued at $5,246,843.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 117,835 shares of company stock worth $29,763,730. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Automatic Data Processing 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.