Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Buys 1,668 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 21.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,294 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,668 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $2,572,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ADP. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

NASDAQ:ADP traded down $4.35 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $297.64. 1,457,736 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,633,247. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $227.12 and a one year high of $309.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $286.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $263.50. The company has a market capitalization of $121.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.08 earnings per share. Automatic Data Processing's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $1.54 dividend. This is a positive change from Automatic Data Processing's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. Automatic Data Processing's payout ratio is 59.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total value of $2,479,748.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 36,741 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,899,862.45. This represents a 20.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $11,692,500.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,781,200. This represents a 54.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 97,792 shares of company stock valued at $27,691,708. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on ADP. Citigroup raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Two investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $289.91.

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.