First Trust Advisors LP Reduces Stock Position in ADT Inc. $ADT

First Trust Advisors LP lessened its position in ADT Inc. (NYSE:ADT) by 26.7% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,186,811 shares of the security and automation business’s stock after selling 1,157,949 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in ADT were worth $26,993,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ADT by 69.5% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,240 shares of the security and automation business’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,329 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its holdings in ADT by 80.9% in the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 5,301 shares of the security and automation business’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 2,370 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of ADT in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of ADT by 51.2% during the second quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,200 shares of the security and automation business’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 2,100 shares during the period. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of ADT during the first quarter valued at approximately $74,000. 87.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

ADT Stock Up 1.3%

NYSE:ADT opened at $8.11 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $8.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.45. The company has a market capitalization of $6.64 billion, a PE ratio of 11.75 and a beta of 0.94. ADT Inc. has a 1-year low of $6.71 and a 1-year high of $8.94.

ADT (NYSE:ADT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 22nd. The security and automation business reported ($0.12) EPS for the quarter. ADT had a return on equity of 18.96% and a net margin of 12.52%.The company had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter. On average, equities analysts predict that ADT Inc. will post 0.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ADT Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 11th will be paid a $0.055 dividend. This represents a $0.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 11th. ADT’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered ADT from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday. Zacks Research cut shares of ADT from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of ADT from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of ADT from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $9.38.

ADT Company Profile

ADT Inc provides security, interactive, and smart home solutions to residential and small business customers in the United States. It operates through two segments, Consumer and Small Business, and Solar. The company provides burglar and life safety alarms, smart security cameras, smart home automation systems, and video surveillance systems.