Pittenger & Anderson Inc. Raises Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,178 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 245 shares during the quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $10,525,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ADP. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 22,539.4% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 934,326 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $217,670,000 after purchasing an additional 930,199 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 40.7% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,128,701 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $752,703,000 after purchasing an additional 905,043 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 65.5% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,402,511 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $337,416,000 after purchasing an additional 555,184 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 18.3% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,576,575 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $855,287,000 after acquiring an additional 553,946 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter valued at about $107,401,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ADP traded down $1.39 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $244.95. 573,090 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,781,264. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $246.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $239.31. The firm has a market cap of $100.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.68, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.78. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $205.53 and a twelve month high of $256.84.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $4.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.65 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 95.22% and a net margin of 19.14%. The business’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.96 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.14 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 368 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.01, for a total value of $90,899.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,319 shares in the company, valued at $5,018,996.19. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, VP David Kwon sold 863 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $215,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 8,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,071,250. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 368 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.01, for a total transaction of $90,899.68. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,319 shares in the company, valued at $5,018,996.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,162 shares of company stock worth $3,741,859 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ADP shares. Bank of America upgraded Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $217.00 to $243.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $267.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $254.58.

Automatic Data Processing Company 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.