Stanley Laman Group Ltd. Boosts Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Stanley Laman Group Ltd. increased its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 9.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,281 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,339 shares during the period. Stanley Laman Group Ltd.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $4,505,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 230.3% during the first quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC now owns 109 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Automatic Data Processing news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total transaction of $2,479,748.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 36,741 shares in the company, valued at $9,899,862.45. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total transaction of $2,479,748.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 36,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,899,862.45. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total value of $7,164,724.32. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 88,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,959,908.96. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 58,817 shares of company stock worth $15,999,208 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $291.34 on Wednesday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $205.53 and a 52-week high of $294.18. The stock has a market cap of $119.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.79. The business’s 50 day moving average is $277.86 and its 200 day moving average is $257.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $4.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.74 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 89.20% and a net margin of 19.54%. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.89 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 10.04 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ADP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Bank of America upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $282.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $275.33.

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.