Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI Reduces Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI reduced its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 83,404 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 710 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing comprises 2.0% of Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $24,415,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ADP. Accredited Investors Inc. increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 4,431.5% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,315,295 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $640,712,000 after purchasing an additional 2,264,202 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $342,942,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 41,710.7% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,090,422 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $319,199,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087,814 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $160,920,000. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 332.3% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 623,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $172,497,000 after purchasing an additional 479,145 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total transaction of $704,869.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at $929,007.90. The trade was a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total value of $210,236.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 68,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,077,721.04. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241 over the last quarter. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ADP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group raised their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two investment 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, Automatic Data Processing has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.18.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $306.45 on Friday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.27 and a twelve month high of $322.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.96, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $302.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $293.75.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share 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, research analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

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.