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

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the eleven analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $289.91.

Several research firms have weighed in on ADP. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group upped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 32,604 shares of the company’s stock, 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 sold a total of 42,129 shares of company stock valued at $12,604,872 over the last three months. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Automatic Data Processing

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 92,324 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $22,037,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 8,071 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,927,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 34.2% during the 2nd quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 8,885 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,120,000 after acquiring an additional 2,265 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 46.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 9,720 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,320,000 after acquiring an additional 3,063 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.8% in the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,426 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,682,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 0.0 %

Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $296.18 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $120.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.61, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Automatic Data Processing has a 12 month low of $231.27 and a 12 month high of $309.63. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $298.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $279.57.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.08 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is 65.74%.

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.