Foster Group Inc. Makes New Investment in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Foster Group Inc. purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 1,138 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $250,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the second quarter valued at approximately $345,000. Thomasville National Bank increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.3% during the second quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 1,528 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $336,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 77.3% during the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 35,069 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,708,000 after purchasing an additional 15,292 shares during the period. Fragasso Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.1% during the second quarter. Fragasso Group Inc. now owns 6,942 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,526,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 93.6% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 51,702 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $11,364,000 after purchasing an additional 24,998 shares during the period. 79.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $245.31 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market cap of $101.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.81. The business’s fifty day moving average is $246.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $226.83. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $201.46 and a 52 week high of $274.92.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 26th. The business services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $4.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.39 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 107.15% and a net margin of 18.94%. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $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 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 8th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 7th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.98%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 7,049 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.75, for a total transaction of $1,795,732.75. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 67,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,079,459. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 7,049 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.75, for a total transaction of $1,795,732.75. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 67,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,079,459. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 58,864 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 170,089 shares of company stock valued at $42,719,064 over the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ADP shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $240.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $255.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $235.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. UBS Group began coverage on Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Friday, June 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $230.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $275.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $249.57.

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.