Avantax Planning Partners Inc. Has $1.84 Million Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Avantax Planning Partners Inc. lowered its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 62.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,005 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 9,884 shares during the period. Avantax Planning Partners Inc.'s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,835,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Main Street Group LTD grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 50.7% during the 4th quarter. Main Street Group LTD now owns 113 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 121.8% during the 4th quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 122 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Abound Wealth Management grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 58.1% during the 1st quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 117 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Banque de Luxembourg S.A. acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 478 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.14, for a total value of $140,120.92. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 7,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,158,682.96. This trade represents a 6.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on ADP. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. TD Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $298.00 to $321.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $323.00 to $315.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, June 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $307.08.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock traded down $0.80 on Monday, hitting $308.40. The company had a trading volume of 1,635,700 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,713,391. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.76. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.27 and a twelve month high of $329.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $312.50 and a 200-day moving average of $303.71.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.09. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 77.33% and a net margin of 19.79%. The company had revenue of $5.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.88 earnings per share. Automatic Data Processing's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.05%.

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.