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

Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the ten brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $254.58.

Several research firms have recently commented on ADP. Wolfe Research upgraded Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $267.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ ADP opened at $242.90 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $247.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $239.18. Automatic Data Processing has a one year low of $201.46 and a one year high of $256.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 95.22% and a net margin of 19.14%. The business had revenue of $4.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP David Kwon sold 863 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $215,750.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,071,250. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Don Mcguire sold 11,333 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total value of $2,776,585.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 19,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,876,970. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP David Kwon sold 863 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $215,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,071,250. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,162 shares of company stock worth $3,741,859. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ADP. Marotta Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Marotta Asset Management now owns 1,395 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 34.7% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 159 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Investment Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Heritage Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,201 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $513,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 5,254 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,224,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Argus Investors Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 8,863 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,065,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

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.