Park Avenue Securities LLC Grows Stock Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 8.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,677 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,231 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $4,882,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total value of $305,322.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,961. This represents a 14.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total transaction of $210,236.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 68,856 shares in the company, valued at $20,077,721.04. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 42,129 shares of company stock worth $12,604,872 in the last three months. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on ADP shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Citigroup upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

ADP stock opened at $296.23 on Friday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $231.27 and a 1 year high of $309.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.61, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $298.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $279.45.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. The firm had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.08 EPS. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.74%.

Automatic Data Processing Company 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.