Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) Price Target Increased to $295.00 by Analysts at UBS Group

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) had its price target boosted by UBS Group from $270.00 to $295.00 in a research note published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also commented on ADP. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of 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 upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $282.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $275.33.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $291.34 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $119.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Automatic Data Processing has a 1 year low of $205.53 and a 1 year high of $294.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $277.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $257.66.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.03. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.54% and a return on equity of 89.20%. The firm had revenue of $4.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 62.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total value of $2,479,748.35. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 36,741 shares in the company, valued at $9,899,862.45. This represents 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 through the SEC website. In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Don Mcguire sold 3,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total transaction of $872,254.02. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 41,696 shares in the company, valued at $11,440,548.48. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total value of $2,479,748.35. Following the sale, the director now owns 36,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,899,862.45. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 58,817 shares of company stock worth $15,999,208. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Automatic Data Processing

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,485 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,902,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 5,698 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,360,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,645 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,302,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 22.1% during the third quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 221 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Confluence Wealth Services Inc. grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 5.0% during the second quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 863 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $206,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.