Mizuho Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) Stock

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) had its price target hoisted by equities research analysts at Mizuho from $281.00 to $310.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Mizuho’s target price points to a potential upside of 6.46% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. UBS Group raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ:ADP opened at $291.18 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a market cap of $118.75 billion, a PE ratio of 31.08, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing has a 52-week low of $218.63 and a 52-week high of $294.18. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $282.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $260.80.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. Automatic Data Processing’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.08 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 88,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,959,908.96. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Maria Black sold 19,147 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 92,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,464,384.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 58,817 shares of company stock valued at $15,999,208 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Automatic Data Processing

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 230.3% during the 1st quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC now owns 109 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% during the 3rd 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 period. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors 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.