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

Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV decreased its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. MGO One Seven LLC lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 9.8% during the second quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 6,572 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,569,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares in the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 21.9% during the 2nd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 16,107 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,845,000 after buying an additional 2,892 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 554,982 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $132,469,000 after buying an additional 28,297 shares in the last quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 240.2% in the 2nd quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP now owns 15,479 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,695,000 after buying an additional 10,929 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.6% during the second quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 160,808 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,383,000 after acquiring an additional 936 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays upped their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 1.2 %

Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $291.89 on Friday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $231.27 and a 1 year high of $309.63. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $298.49 and its 200-day moving average is $277.85. 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 company has a market cap of $118.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.15, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79.

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

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This is a boost from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP David Foskett sold 1,004 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.29, for a total transaction of $290,447.16. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,723,589.82. This trade represents a 14.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $11,692,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 32,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,781,200. This represents a 54.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 41,062 shares of company stock valued at $12,299,550 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing 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.