Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Friday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. UBS Group raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $291.69 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $118.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.13, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $309.63. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $298.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $276.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.08 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $1.54 per share. This is an increase from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.74%.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,027,233.98. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $11,692,500.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,781,200. This trade represents a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Automatic Data Processing

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Founders Financial Securities LLC acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the second quarter worth approximately $218,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,403 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,051,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 35.4% in the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,670 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $399,000 after buying an additional 437 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 852,275 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $203,430,000 after buying an additional 50,418 shares during the period. Finally, 9258 Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 6.9% in the second quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,185 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $283,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.