Benjamin Edwards Inc. Has $59.30 Million Stock Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 202,516 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,594 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing makes up about 0.8% of Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $59,299,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 121.8% during the fourth quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 122 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Securities lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $296.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $303.55.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 478 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.14, for a total value of $140,120.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,158,682.96. This represents a 6.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total value of $458,070.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,073 shares in the company, valued at $3,686,852.74. The trade was a 11.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,451 shares of company stock valued at $743,024 over the last ninety days. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Automatic Data Processing stock traded up $1.85 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $305.18. 2,013,030 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,688,964. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.27 and a twelve month high of $322.84. The company has a market cap of $124.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $297.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $298.91.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.09. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. The business had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.49 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.88 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.05%.

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.