Northwest Investment Counselors LLC Boosts Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Northwest Investment Counselors LLC grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 16,973 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing comprises about 1.1% of Northwest Investment Counselors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $4,697,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% in the third quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,485 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,902,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 5,698 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,360,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,645 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,302,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 22.1% in the 3rd quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 221 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Confluence Wealth Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.0% during the second quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 863 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $206,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of ADP stock traded down $1.26 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $291.03. The stock had a trading volume of 316,098 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,629,751. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $276.64 and its 200 day moving average is $256.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.12 billion, a PE ratio of 32.46, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $205.53 and a twelve month high of $294.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.03. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.54% and a return on equity of 89.20%. The company had revenue of $4.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.74 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.89 EPS. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ADP shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $267.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $282.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $267.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total value of $7,164,724.32. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 88,426 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,959,908.96. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total transaction of $2,479,748.35. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,741 shares in the company, valued at $9,899,862.45. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total transaction of $7,164,724.32. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 88,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,959,908.96. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 58,817 shares of company stock valued at $15,999,208 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.