Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the twelve analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have issued a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $277.64.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $282.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $267.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, August 1st.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total transaction of $7,164,724.32. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 88,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,959,908.96. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total transaction of $7,164,724.32. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 88,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,959,908.96. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 19,147 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total transaction of $5,253,553.86. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 92,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,464,384.66. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 58,817 shares of company stock valued at $15,999,208. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Automatic Data Processing

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. BlueSpruce Investments LP bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the first quarter worth $365,757,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 28,478.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,194,587 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,305,780,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190,407 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 27.7% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,715,382 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $678,601,000 after purchasing an additional 589,831 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 238.1% in the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 784,003 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $195,797,000 after purchasing an additional 552,096 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 242.4% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 644,135 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $153,749,000 after purchasing an additional 456,027 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of ADP stock opened at $287.95 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $280.30 and a 200-day moving average of $259.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Automatic Data Processing has a 12-month low of $205.53 and a 12-month high of $294.18. The firm has a market cap of $117.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.14, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.03. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.54% and a return on equity of 89.20%. The company had revenue of $4.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.89 EPS. Automatic Data Processing’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.