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

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $289.91.

Several research firms have issued reports on ADP. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted 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 note on Friday, November 1st.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $286.85 on Monday. Automatic Data Processing has a 1-year low of $231.27 and a 1-year high of $309.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $116.88 billion, a PE ratio of 30.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $298.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $278.61.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $4.83 billion for 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 company’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.08 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $1.54 dividend. This is a positive change from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is 65.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP David Foskett sold 1,004 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.29, for a total value of $290,447.16. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,723,589.82. The trade was a 14.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $11,692,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,781,200. This represents a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 41,062 shares of company stock valued at $12,299,550. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Automatic Data Processing

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% in the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.