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

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,374 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $13,868,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ADP. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $209,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 280,961 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $77,750,000 after buying an additional 15,340 shares during the period. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $708,000. RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at $470,000. Finally, Dash Acquisitions Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. now owns 52,329 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,069,000 after purchasing an additional 2,781 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP David Foskett sold 1,004 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on ADP. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $293.55.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $308.15 on Monday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $231.27 and a one year high of $311.67. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $297.56 and a 200-day moving average of $288.77. The company has a market capitalization of $125.56 billion, a PE ratio of 32.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

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.