Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Acquires 262,156 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. $ADP

Key Points

• Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. significantly increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. by 2,400% during the second quarter, acquiring an additional 262,156 shares.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend of $1.54 per share, representing an annualized amount of $6.16 with a yield of 2.1%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on ADP, with an average price target of $314.73 and most research reports recommending a "Hold" rating.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 2,400.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 273,079 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 262,156 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing accounts for 1.5% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. owned 0.07% of Automatic Data Processing worth $84,218,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of ADP. Bangor Savings Bank grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 4,907 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,513,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 779 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $238,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,371 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,030,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 883 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 36.1% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 132 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ADP shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $305.00 to $318.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $315.00 to $290.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $321.00 to $332.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing to a "hold" rating and set a $340.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $314.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP David Foskett sold 1,373 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.57, for a total value of $407,190.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 11,781 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,493,891.17. The trade was a 10.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 8,728 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.43, for a total value of $2,604,697.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 80,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,032,866.33. This represents a 9.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,516 shares of company stock valued at $15,632,410 over the last 90 days. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of ADP traded up $1.13 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $293.13. 604,767 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,732,175. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $272.18 and a twelve month high of $329.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a market cap of $118.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.38, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.82. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $301.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $303.82.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.03. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 72.84% and a net margin of 19.84%.The company had revenue of $5.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Automatic Data Processing has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.811-11.011 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. Automatic Data Processing's payout ratio is 61.72%.

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.