Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. Has $24.75 Million Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 84,557 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing accounts for approximately 3.6% of Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $24,752,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ADP. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at about $342,942,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 41,710.7% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter valued at approximately $160,920,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 332.3% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 3,120,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $910,972,000 after purchasing an additional 449,431 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 473 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total value of $144,832.60. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 7,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,218,112.80. This trade represents a 6.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,951 shares of company stock worth $1,762,074 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, March 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.18.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

ADP opened at $298.79 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $121.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $231.27 and a 1-year high of $322.84. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $302.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $295.07.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.23%.

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.