First Merchants Corp Sells 26,652 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. $ADP

First Merchants Corp cut its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 59.9% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 17,862 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 26,652 shares during the period. First Merchants Corp’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $3,629,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 20.0% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 635,921 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $129,206,000 after purchasing an additional 105,819 shares during the period. Tactive Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 1st quarter worth about $18,206,000. Evolve Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 22.6% in the 1st quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,033 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $616,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares during the period. Forbes J M & Co. LLP lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 2.1% in the first quarter. Forbes J M & Co. LLP now owns 9,646 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,960,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sky Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 4.6% in the first quarter. Sky Investment Group LLC now owns 25,262 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,133,000 after purchasing an additional 1,107 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $300.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Argus decreased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $300.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $214.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target 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 Tuesday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $244.29.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $218.41 on Monday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $188.16 and a 12-month high of $315.98. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $214.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $227.98. The company has a market capitalization of $87.31 billion, a PE ratio of 20.37 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.30 by $0.07. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 20.12% and a return on equity of 68.82%. The business had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.06 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Automatic Data Processing has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.010-11.110 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 11.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders 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 3.1%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 63.43%.

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.