Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Stake Reduced by Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV

Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV decreased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 9,380 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $2,746,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Accredited Investors Inc. grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 4,431.5% in 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 during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 28,478.6% in 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 last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth $160,920,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 332.3% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 623,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $172,497,000 after purchasing an additional 479,145 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 242.4% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 644,135 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $153,749,000 after purchasing an additional 456,027 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was 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 directly owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $11,692,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,781,200. The trade was a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 41,062 shares of company stock worth $12,299,550 over the last three months. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on ADP. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $291.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company has a market cap of $118.93 billion, a PE ratio of 31.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $298.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $277.85. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $309.63.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.08 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. This is a positive change from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.