Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Royal Bank of Canada Analyst Says

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) had its target price lifted by equities research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $267.00 to $315.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “sector perform” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price suggests a potential upside of 9.31% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on ADP. Barclays boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $282.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $285.09.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $288.18 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $281.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $259.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.76, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing has a 12-month low of $211.52 and a 12-month high of $294.18. 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 (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $4.83 billion during 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.08 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing will post 9.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total value of $228,927.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,410 shares in the company, valued at $2,816,946. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total value of $7,164,724.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 88,426 shares in the company, valued at $23,959,908.96. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 58,817 shares of company stock valued at $15,999,208. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Automatic Data Processing

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Carr Financial Group Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter worth about $227,000. Sheets Smith Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter worth about $534,000. Atria Investments Inc lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.7% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 63,540 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $17,583,000 after buying an additional 1,059 shares in the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 42.2% in the third quarter. First Personal Financial Services now owns 192 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kerusso Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 6.5% in the third quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC now owns 5,204 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,440,000 after buying an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.