Mechanics Bank Trust Department Acquires 802 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Mechanics Bank Trust Department raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 3.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,680 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the period. Mechanics Bank Trust Department’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $5,424,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Arlington Partners LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Regal Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,208,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 17.1% in the second quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 1,368 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 4.0% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,204,418 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $268,140,000 after purchasing an additional 46,082 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 34.1% during the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 338 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.37% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on ADP. Mizuho raised their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $240.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $235.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. Barclays lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $275.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $240.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $249.57.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of ADP opened at $245.31 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market cap of $101.07 billion, a PE ratio of 29.92, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.81. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $201.46 and a 12-month high of $274.92. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $246.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $226.83.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The business services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $4.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.50 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 payout ratio is currently 60.98%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 52,254 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.93, for a total value of $12,955,334.22. Following the sale, the insider now owns 44,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,121,891.87. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 52,254 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.93, for a total value of $12,955,334.22. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 44,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,121,891.87. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 58,864 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 44,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,233,590.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 170,089 shares of company stock valued at $42,719,064. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.