Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Reduces Stock Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System decreased its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 51,700 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,400 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $15,134,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total transaction of $704,869.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at $929,007.90. This represents a 43.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ADP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays boosted 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $293.55.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of ADP stock traded down $2.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $308.15. The stock had a trading volume of 1,100,945 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,756,367. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $231.27 and a 12-month high of $311.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.79. The firm's 50-day moving average is $297.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $288.37. 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 (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. On average, analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing's payout ratio is 64.23%.

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.