Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) Given New $350.00 Price Target at Barclays

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) had its target price hoisted by Barclays from $325.00 to $350.00 in a report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on ADP. StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $293.55.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

NASDAQ:ADP opened at $307.32 on Monday. Automatic Data Processing has a one year low of $231.27 and a one year high of $311.67. The company has a market cap of $125.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $297.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $284.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. Equities analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total value of $305,322.05. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,756,961. This represents a 14.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the company’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 transaction, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 42,129 shares of company stock worth $12,604,872. Company 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 company. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,334,580 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,098,541,000 after buying an additional 424,328 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,517,642 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,906,257,000 after purchasing an additional 286,080 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,238,526 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $896,197,000 after acquiring an additional 41,709 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 4,431.5% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,315,295 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $640,712,000 after acquiring an additional 2,264,202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,252,807 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $623,419,000 after acquiring an additional 17,717 shares during the last quarter. 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.