Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases 60 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.4% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 15,454 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 60 shares during the quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $4,722,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 92.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,026 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,935,000 after purchasing an additional 4,808 shares during the period. Angeles Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,562 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $457,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 11,191 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,276,000 after purchasing an additional 597 shares during the period. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Soltis Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,983 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $873,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of ADP opened at $314.52 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $127.67 billion, a PE ratio of 32.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.79. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $306.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $302.82. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $231.27 and a 12-month high of $329.93.

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

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is 63.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on ADP shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. UBS Group raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. TD Securities raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $298.00 to $321.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $305.64.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total transaction of $458,070.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,686,852.74. This trade represents a 11.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 478 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.14, for a total value of $140,120.92. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,158,682.96. This represents a 6.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by 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.