Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. Has $525,000 Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 40.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,201 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,500 shares during the period. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $525,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 105.2% during the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $467,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $308,321,000. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 22.6% during the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 5,231 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,219,000 after buying an additional 966 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 539,551 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $125,704,000 after buying an additional 3,666 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at $793,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ADP. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $267.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $282.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Automatic Data Processing from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $265.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total transaction of $7,164,724.32. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 88,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,959,908.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total value of $2,479,748.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,741 shares in the company, valued at $9,899,862.45. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total transaction of $7,164,724.32. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 88,426 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,959,908.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 58,817 shares of company stock valued at $15,999,208. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ADP opened at $279.41 on Wednesday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $205.53 and a 1 year high of $281.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $262.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $250.94. The company has a market capitalization of $114.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.03. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 89.20% and a net margin of 19.54%. The company had revenue of $4.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is currently 62.50%.

Automatic Data Processing Company Profile

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.