Leelyn Smith LLC Buys New Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Leelyn Smith LLC purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 695 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ADP. Claro Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 42.0% during the third quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 1,315 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $364,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 125,845 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,834,000 after purchasing an additional 5,076 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 118.0% during the 3rd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 36,818 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,189,000 after purchasing an additional 19,926 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2,248.7% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 3,711 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,027,000 after purchasing an additional 3,553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. now owns 74,255 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $20,549,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays increased their price target 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. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.18.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $296.58 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $231.27 and a 1 year high of $322.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.84 billion, a PE ratio of 30.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $302.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $294.90.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share 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 fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given 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 2.08%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is presently 64.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $929,007.90. This trade represents a 43.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 473 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total value of $144,832.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,218,112.80. This represents a 6.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 5,951 shares of company stock worth $1,762,074. 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.