Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Has $15.13 Million Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 51,700 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,400 shares during the period. 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).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ADP. Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 4,431.5% during the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,315,295 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $640,712,000 after buying an additional 2,264,202 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 28,478.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,194,587 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,305,780,000 after acquiring an additional 1,190,407 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth about $160,920,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 332.3% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 623,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $172,497,000 after acquiring an additional 479,145 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 2.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,334,580 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,098,541,000 after purchasing an additional 424,328 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at $929,007.90. This represents a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ ADP opened at $305.78 on Wednesday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $231.27 and a 12-month high of $311.67. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $297.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $287.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market cap of $124.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. On average, research analysts expect 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, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 64.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ADP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus 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.