LM Advisors LLC Takes $981,000 Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

LM Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 3,334 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $981,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ADP. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 121.8% in the 4th quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 122 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $302.41 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $303.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $295.96. The company has a market cap of $123.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.53, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $231.27 and a 12-month high of $322.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 expect 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, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total transaction of $704,869.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at $929,007.90. This represents a 43.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,951 shares of company stock worth $1,762,074. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.