Gotham Asset Management LLC Has $23.68 Million Stock Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Gotham Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 7.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 80,882 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 6,256 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $23,677,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 121.8% during the fourth quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 122 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Banque de Luxembourg S.A. acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ADP. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Securities lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $296.00 to $298.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $303.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 473 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total transaction of $144,832.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,244 shares in the company, valued at $2,218,112.80. This represents a 6.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total value of $458,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 12,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,686,852.74. This trade represents a 11.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,451 shares of company stock worth $743,024. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ADP traded up $0.33 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $309.71. 93,949 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,686,090. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $297.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $299.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $125.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.28, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.27 and a twelve month high of $322.84.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.09. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. The company had revenue of $5.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.88 EPS. Automatic Data Processing's revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing's payout ratio is currently 63.05%.

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.