Park Avenue Securities LLC Has $4.88 Million Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 8.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,677 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,231 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $4,882,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ADP. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew 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 valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Mizuho raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup boosted their price target 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, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ADP traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $296.18. 2,405,360 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,711,269. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $231.27 and a one year high of $309.63. The company's 50 day moving average is $298.07 and its 200 day moving average is $279.57. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $120.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. 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 quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.08 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is currently 65.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $11,692,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,781,200. The trade was a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total transaction of $305,322.05. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,756,961. This represents a 14.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 42,129 shares of company stock valued at $12,604,872 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

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.