Kovack Advisors Inc. Has $434,000 Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Kovack Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 72.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,482 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $434,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total value of $305,322.05. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 6,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,756,961. The trade was a 14.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total value of $704,869.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $929,007.90. The trade was a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ADP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays boosted their target price 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $293.55.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $315.18 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $300.66 and its 200 day moving average is $291.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $128.42 billion, a PE ratio of 32.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $231.27 and a 1 year high of $316.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. Equities research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is presently 64.23%.

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.