Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,510,000 shares, an increase of 11.4% from the May 31st total of 4,050,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,420,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.2 days. Approximately 1.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Keener Financial Planning LLC grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 230.3% in the first quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC now owns 109 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the first quarter valued at $33,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the first quarter valued at $36,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on ADP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $254.00 to $250.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $280.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $253.00 to $251.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $255.42.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of ADP opened at $235.67 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $245.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $243.86. The company has a market capitalization of $96.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Automatic Data Processing has a 1-year low of $205.53 and a 1-year high of $256.84.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $2.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.79 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $5.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 93.09%. Automatic Data Processing’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.52 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing will post 9.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.50%.

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.