Argent Trust Co Acquires 5,615 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. $ADP

Argent Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 13.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,024 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,615 shares during the quarter. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $13,508,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,689,633 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,235,907,000 after buying an additional 389,451 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.0% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,782,407 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,820,445,000 after acquiring an additional 187,415 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,388,935 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,511,698,000 after purchasing an additional 345,798 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 30,110.7% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,668,758 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,439,845,000 after purchasing an additional 4,653,304 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 13.5% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,576,681 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,411,449,000 after purchasing an additional 544,968 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on ADP shares. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $303.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $306.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $280.00 to $270.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $230.00 price target (down from $245.00) on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $290.00.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 1.8%

ADP stock opened at $214.36 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $203.26 and a twelve month high of $329.93. The company has a market cap of $86.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.61 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a fifty day moving average of $242.81 and a 200-day moving average of $266.32.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $5.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.34 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 68.44% and a net margin of 19.96%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.35 earnings per share. Automatic Data Processing has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.091-11.011 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 65.38%.

Automatic Data Processing declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, January 14th that permits the company to buyback $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 5.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP David Foskett sold 266 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.00, for a total value of $63,042.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 10,954 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,596,098. This represents a 2.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 543 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.29, for a total value of $142,423.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 9,998 shares in the company, valued at $2,622,375.42. This represents a 5.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,515 shares of company stock valued at $887,074. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Profile

Automatic Data Processing, Inc (ADP) is a global provider of cloud-based human capital management (HCM) and payroll solutions. Founded in 1949 and headquartered in Roseland, New Jersey, ADP began as a payroll processing company and has evolved into a diversified provider of workforce management, HR, benefits administration, tax and compliance services, and analytics for employers of all sizes.

ADP’s product portfolio includes payroll processing and tax filing, time and attendance systems, benefits administration, talent management, and HR outsourcing.