Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Buys 81 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,375 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $2,744,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,334,580 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,098,541,000 after acquiring an additional 424,328 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,517,642 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,906,257,000 after purchasing an additional 286,080 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,238,526 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $896,197,000 after purchasing an additional 41,709 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 4,431.5% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,315,295 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $640,712,000 after purchasing an additional 2,264,202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 0.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,252,807 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $623,419,000 after purchasing an additional 17,717 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP David Foskett sold 1,004 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.29, for a total value of $290,447.16. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,723,589.82. This trade represents a 14.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ:ADP opened at $305.97 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $231.27 and a 12-month high of $311.67. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $297.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $286.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. Equities research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is 64.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ADP. UBS Group raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $293.55.

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.