SouthState Corp Trims Stock Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

SouthState Corp trimmed its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 17,622 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 572 shares during the period. SouthState Corp’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $4,877,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% in the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the first quarter worth $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the first quarter valued at $36,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $297.89 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $287.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $264.53. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $227.12 and a 12 month high of $309.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. The company had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.08 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This is a boost from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is currently 59.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total transaction of $228,927.60. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,816,946. This trade represents a 7.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $11,692,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 32,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,781,200. This represents a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 97,792 shares of company stock worth $27,691,708 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.