Argent Capital Management LLC Has $1.53 Million Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. $ADP

Argent Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 44.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,937 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,791 shares during the period. Argent Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,527,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ADP. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 30,110.7% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,668,758 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,439,845,000 after acquiring an additional 4,653,304 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 2nd quarter valued at $696,841,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 47.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,830,294 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,004,691,000 after purchasing an additional 2,208,927 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 32.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,273,700 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $960,831,000 after acquiring an additional 796,379 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 24.9% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 3,109,120 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $948,549,000 after purchasing an additional 619,829 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $295.00 to $275.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $311.00 to $274.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $272.00 to $262.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $280.00 to $270.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective (down from $245.00) on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $288.46.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP David Foskett sold 266 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 10,954 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,596,098. This trade represents a 2.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 543 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.45, for a total value of $113,188.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 8,912 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,857,706.40. This represents a 5.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,058 shares of company stock worth $1,000,263. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

ADP opened at $210.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $84.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.26 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $230.43 and a 200 day moving average of $257.62. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $203.26 and a fifty-two week high of $329.93.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 68.44% and a net margin of 19.96%.The business had revenue of $5.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.35 earnings per share. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Automatic Data Processing has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.091-11.011 EPS. On average, 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 is Friday, March 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.38%.

Automatic Data Processing declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, January 14th that authorizes the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy up to 5.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Automatic Data Processing Company 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.