Financial Advocates Investment Management Trims Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Financial Advocates Investment Management cut its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,692 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 118 shares during the quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $2,252,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ADP. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake 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 worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of ADP opened at $308.97 on Friday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $231.27 and a 52-week high of $311.67. 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 $125.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.22, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.79. The business’s 50 day moving average is $297.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $285.83.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. Analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 64.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ADP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $293.55.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $929,007.90. This represents a 43.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.