Lafayette Investments Inc. Boosts Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Lafayette Investments Inc. increased its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 10.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,501 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $816,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 19.3% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 134,223 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $30,532,000 after acquiring an additional 21,671 shares during the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $571,000. Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 453 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $103,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 82.8% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 636 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $145,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 2,902 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $660,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of ADP traded up $0.92 on Friday, reaching $242.91. The stock had a trading volume of 304,121 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,798,869. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $201.46 and a twelve month high of $256.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $247.36 and a 200 day moving average of $239.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.78 billion, a PE ratio of 28.29, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.78.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.03. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 95.22% and a net margin of 19.14%. The firm had revenue of $4.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.96 EPS. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.14 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is currently 65.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $267.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Bank of America upgraded Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $217.00 to $243.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $254.58.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 368 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.01, for a total transaction of $90,899.68. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,018,996.19. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Joseph Desilva sold 1,904 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total value of $485,520.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 17,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,380,645. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 368 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.01, for a total value of $90,899.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,319 shares in the company, valued at $5,018,996.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,162 shares of company stock valued at $3,741,859. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.