Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Acquired by Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.

Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 84,928 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 649 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing accounts for 3.0% of Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $20,271,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 39,769,440 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,932,020,000 after buying an additional 173,298 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,492,425 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,279,570,000 after acquiring an additional 249,566 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,625,186 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $905,354,000 after acquiring an additional 81,869 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 27.7% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,715,382 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $678,601,000 after acquiring an additional 589,831 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% during the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 2,556,377 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $610,182,000 after purchasing an additional 9,464 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ADP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $282.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $265.36.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total value of $7,164,724.32. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 88,426 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,959,908.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total value of $7,164,724.32. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 88,426 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,959,908.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,816,946. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 58,817 shares of company stock worth $15,999,208 over the last quarter. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.2 %

Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $277.51 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $113.17 billion, a PE ratio of 30.97, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $205.53 and a 12-month high of $279.58. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $260.52 and its 200 day moving average is $250.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $4.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.74 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.54% and a return on equity of 89.20%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.89 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 10.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.50%.

Automatic Data Processing 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.