Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Grows Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,008 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,382 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $2,493,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 worth $9,932,020,000 after purchasing an additional 173,298 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 12.0% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,065,308 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $964,989,000 after purchasing an additional 435,093 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 2.3% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,625,186 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $905,354,000 after buying an additional 81,869 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 4.1% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,548,165 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $846,912,000 after buying an additional 139,561 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 27.7% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,715,382 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $678,601,000 after buying an additional 589,831 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock traded up $0.33 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $292.29. 2,738,202 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,636,240. The firm has a market cap of $119.63 billion, a PE ratio of 32.62, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.79. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $276.64 and its 200 day moving average is $256.84. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $205.53 and a 1 year high of $294.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on ADP. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $267.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $282.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $267.83.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total value of $228,927.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,816,946. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 88,426 shares in the company, valued at $23,959,908.96. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total value of $228,927.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,410 shares in the company, valued at $2,816,946. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 58,817 shares of company stock worth $15,999,208. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.