TD Cowen Issues Positive Forecast for Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) Stock Price

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) had its price target raised by TD Cowen from $276.00 to $285.00 in a report published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. TD Cowen currently has a hold rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on ADP. Bank of America lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. UBS Group upped their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

NASDAQ ADP opened at $289.86 on Friday. Automatic Data Processing has a 1 year low of $218.63 and a 1 year high of $294.18. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $281.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $260.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market cap of $118.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.78.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.08 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing will post 9.97 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, CEO Maria Black sold 19,147 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total value of $5,253,553.86. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 92,807 shares in the company, valued at $25,464,384.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total value of $7,164,724.32. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 88,426 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,959,908.96. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 19,147 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 92,807 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,464,384.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 58,817 shares of company stock valued at $15,999,208. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Automatic Data Processing

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 230.3% in the 1st quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC now owns 109 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the first quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.