Lazard Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 13.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 80,755 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,653 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $20,167,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ADP. Keener Financial Planning LLC grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 230.3% in the 1st quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC now owns 109 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the first quarter valued at $33,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Evolution Advisers Inc. bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Bfsg LLC acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of ADP stock opened at $252.67 on Monday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $205.53 and a 1 year high of $256.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $103.42 billion, a PE ratio of 28.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $244.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $245.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $2.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.79 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $5.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 93.09%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.52 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.16 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on ADP. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Barclays increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $280.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $254.00 to $250.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $253.00 to $251.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $253.50.

Automatic Data Processing 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.