Mengis Capital Management Inc. Acquires 255 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Mengis Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,173 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $2,978,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth about $3,709,000. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 4,514 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,322,000 after buying an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 24.1% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 15,456 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,524,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Dover Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth approximately $211,000. Finally, Partners Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth $356,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ADP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $293.55.

Insider Activity

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

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $312.20 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $127.21 billion, a PE ratio of 32.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $231.27 and a 52 week high of $314.06. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $299.03 and its 200-day moving average is $290.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00.

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

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.