Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 275 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Lazard Asset Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 81,589 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 275 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $23,882,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AMG National Trust Bank lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 11,334 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,318,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Aspiriant LLC grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 2,372 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $694,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,009 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,466,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 3,686 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,079,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riversedge Advisors LLC grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $308.19 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $125.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $322.84. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $297.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $299.52.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.09. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. The firm had revenue of $5.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.88 earnings per share. Automatic Data Processing’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is currently 63.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ADP has been the subject of several recent research reports. TD Securities increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $296.00 to $298.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $303.55.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 478 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.14, for a total transaction of $140,120.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,158,682.96. The trade was a 6.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total value of $458,070.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,686,852.74. This represents a 11.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,451 shares of company stock worth $743,024 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.