Stanley Laman Group Ltd. Has $4.73 Million Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Stanley Laman Group Ltd. lessened its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 16,156 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 125 shares during the quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $4,729,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total value of $704,869.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at $929,007.90. The trade was a 43.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total value of $305,322.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,961. The trade was a 14.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

ADP stock opened at $306.65 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $297.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $287.71. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $231.27 and a 1-year high of $311.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $124.95 billion, a PE ratio of 31.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its 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 return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ADP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. 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 report on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $293.55.

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.