Mechanics Bank Trust Department Cuts Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. $ADP

Mechanics Bank Trust Department lowered its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 11.2% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 15,381 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,935 shares during the quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $3,445,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 92.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,026 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,935,000 after purchasing an additional 4,808 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 22.8% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 3,664 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,073,000 after buying an additional 681 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 21.8% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 1,259 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $388,000 after buying an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the second quarter worth approximately $108,000. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 17.5% during the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,477 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,641,000 after buying an additional 815 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:ADP opened at $270.09 on Thursday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $188.16 and a one year high of $310.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.05. The company has a market capitalization of $107.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.69 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $238.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $224.57.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $2.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 20.11% and a return on equity of 71.34%. The firm had revenue of $5.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.26 earnings per share. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Automatic Data Processing has set its FY 2027 guidance at 12.120-12.340 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 12.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ADP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $240.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $230.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $332.00 to $305.00 in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $248.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $273.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP David Kwon sold 2,414 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.62, for a total transaction of $641,206.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 9,660 shares in the company, valued at $2,565,889.20. The trade was a 19.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

About Automatic Data Processing

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.