Sanders Morris Harris LLC Acquires Shares of 2,250 Automatic Data Processing, Inc. $ADP

Sanders Morris Harris LLC bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,250 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $660,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Activest Wealth Management raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 2,600.0% in the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 81 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Solstein Capital LLC acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the second quarter worth $28,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of ADP opened at $265.47 on Thursday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $247.18 and a fifty-two week high of $329.93. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $264.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $289.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The company has a market capitalization of $107.37 billion, a PE ratio of 26.21 and a beta of 0.86.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 70.63% and a net margin of 19.79%.The firm had revenue of $5.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.33 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Automatic Data Processing has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.811-11.011 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $1.70 dividend. This is a boost from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.54. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is 67.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $230.00 target price (down previously from $245.00) on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Tuesday. Dbs Bank raised shares of Automatic Data Processing to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $288.00 to $272.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $315.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $306.42.

About Automatic Data Processing

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.