Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Purchased by Lafayette Investments Inc.

Lafayette Investments Inc. boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 10.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,501 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $816,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ardent Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter valued at $392,000. Americana Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 3.1% during the third quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 22,228 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,330,000 after buying an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 28.5% during the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,150 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,995,000 after buying an additional 3,800 shares in the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 36.7% during the fourth quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 19,800 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,613,000 after buying an additional 5,318 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at $1,635,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP David Kwon sold 863 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $215,750.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,285 shares in the company, valued at $2,071,250. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 368 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 20,319 shares in the company, valued at $5,018,996.19. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP David Kwon sold 863 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $215,750.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,285 shares in the company, valued at $2,071,250. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,162 shares of company stock valued at $3,741,859. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ADP. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $267.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, February 1st. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $254.58.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP traded up $0.92 on Friday, reaching $242.91. The company 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 stock has a market capitalization of $99.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $247.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $239.20.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $4.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.96 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.14 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.19%.

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.