Bath Savings Trust Co Boosts Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Bath Savings Trust Co grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 85,852 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,043 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing accounts for 2.2% of Bath Savings Trust Co’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Bath Savings Trust Co’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $18,869,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 94,265.5% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,770,728 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,617,256,000 after acquiring an additional 6,763,553 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at $531,416,000. Gateway Advisory LLC grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 22,163.0% during the first quarter. Gateway Advisory LLC now owns 1,740,744 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,741,000 after buying an additional 1,732,925 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 902.1% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,023,100 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $227,773,000 after purchasing an additional 921,000 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 39.8% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 3,010,023 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $733,450,000 after purchasing an additional 856,540 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.37% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of ADP stock traded up $2.25 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $247.56. 340,955 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,788,907. The firm has a market cap of $101.99 billion, a PE ratio of 30.20, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.81. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $201.46 and a 1 year high of $274.92. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $246.38 and a 200 day moving average of $226.89.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business 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%. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.50 EPS. Analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 7th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 60.98%.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, insider Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 52,254 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 44,859 shares in the company, valued at $11,121,891.87. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 58,864 shares of Automatic Data Processing 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 44,859 shares in the company, valued at $11,233,590.78. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 52,254 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.93, for a total transaction of $12,955,334.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 44,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,121,891.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 170,089 shares of company stock worth $42,719,064. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ADP has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $240.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of 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. Royal Bank of Canada initiated 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 12th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $275.00 to $285.00 in a report on Friday, July 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.