Stanley Laman Group Ltd. Increases Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Stanley Laman Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 5.7% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 14,942 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 800 shares during the quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $3,567,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Keener Financial Planning LLC boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 230.3% during the first quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC now owns 109 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Evolution Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock traded up $0.43 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $264.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,013,231 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,676,058. The firm has a market capitalization of $108.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.47, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.78. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $205.53 and a 1-year high of $269.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $248.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $247.43.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 89.20% and a net margin of 19.54%. The business had revenue of $4.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.89 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 10.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is 62.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ADP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $267.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $254.00 to $250.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $253.00 to $251.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $262.18.

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.