Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Barclays raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $280.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $254.00 to $250.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $253.00 to $251.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, March 11th. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $255.42.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

NASDAQ ADP opened at $236.63 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $245.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $243.86. Automatic Data Processing has a 52 week low of $205.53 and a 52 week high of $256.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.41, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.78.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Automatic Data Processing

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 12.2% in the second quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 11,507 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,724,000 after purchasing an additional 1,252 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 2,426 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $579,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 105.4% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,003 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,433,000 after buying an additional 3,081 shares in the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 26,071 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,223,000 after acquiring an additional 791 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IMS Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. IMS Capital Management now owns 9,016 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,252,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

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.