GF Fund Management CO. LTD. Has $21.95 Million Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. $ADP

GF Fund Management CO. LTD. increased its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 85,312 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,468 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $21,945,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted 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. grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 32.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,273,700 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $960,831,000 after buying an additional 796,379 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew 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 during the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at $99,591,000. Finally, Credit Agricole S A acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at $94,021,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.18, for a total value of $234,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 15,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,585,295.80. This trade represents a 6.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP David Foskett sold 266 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.00, for a total value of $63,042.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 10,954 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,596,098. This trade represents a 2.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,809 shares of company stock valued at $410,410. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ADP shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price 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 lowered their price objective on shares of 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. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $280.00 to $270.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $278.62.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ ADP opened at $200.47 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $80.72 billion, a PE ratio of 19.28 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a fifty day moving average of $209.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $244.10. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $188.16 and a 52-week high of $329.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $5.36 billion during 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 business’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, January 14th that allows the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to purchase up to 5.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.38%.

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.