Quest Partners LLC Has $1.03 Million Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Quest Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 2,248.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,711 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,553 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,027,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ADP. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ADP traded up $6.10 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $304.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,330,020 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,634,297. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $227.12 and a one year high of $309.37. The company has a market cap of $124.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $288.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $265.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.08 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. This is an increase from Automatic Data Processing's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is presently 59.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total transaction of $2,479,748.35. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 36,741 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,899,862.45. This trade represents a 20.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was 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 directly owns 32,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,781,200. This trade represents a 54.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 97,792 shares of company stock valued at $27,691,708 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ADP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays increased 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group upped their price target on 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, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. 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 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.