Sterling Investment Counsel LLC Takes Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 843 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $257,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 13.4% during the 1st quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 2,038 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $623,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 6.2% in the first quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,407 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,041,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 0.3% in the first quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 96,427 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $29,461,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 2.6% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 47,675 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $14,566,000 after acquiring an additional 1,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 4,194 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,281,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ADP. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $321.00 to $332.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $323.00 to $315.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $307.08.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of ADP stock traded down $0.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $306.26. The stock had a trading volume of 3,637,760 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,720,468. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $231.27 and a one year high of $329.93. The firm has a market cap of $124.32 billion, a PE ratio of 31.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.79. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $309.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $302.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.09. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 77.33% and a net margin of 19.79%. The firm had revenue of $5.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.49 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.88 earnings per share. Automatic Data Processing's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.05%.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the company's 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 owns 12,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,686,852.74. This represents a 11.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 478 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.14, for a total transaction of $140,120.92. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 7,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,158,682.96. This trade represents a 6.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.