LM Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

LM Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,334 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $981,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter valued at $221,000. Avestar Capital LLC increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 2,180 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $603,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $995,000. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 8.6% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 55,611 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,389,000 after acquiring an additional 4,405 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 332.3% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 623,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $172,497,000 after purchasing an additional 479,145 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 473 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total transaction of $144,832.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,218,112.80. The trade was a 6.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,951 shares of company stock worth $1,762,074. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ADP shares. Barclays increased their price target 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. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $302.30.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ADP opened at $302.41 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $123.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $303.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $295.96. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $231.27 and a one year high of $322.84.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 64.23%.

Automatic Data Processing Company 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.