Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Monday.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on ADP. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

ADP opened at $300.15 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $297.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $282.77. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $122.30 billion, a PE ratio of 32.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing has a 52 week low of $231.27 and a 52 week high of $309.63.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.08 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.74%.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total transaction of $305,322.05. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,961. The trade was a 14.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 42,129 shares of company stock worth $12,604,872 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 50.1% during the fourth quarter. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp now owns 1,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $328,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 30,364 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,888,000 after buying an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 72.0% during the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 2,793 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $818,000 after buying an additional 1,169 shares during the period. Geneva Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth $1,243,000. Finally, Tyche Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 108.8% in the fourth quarter. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC now owns 6,024 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,763,000 after acquiring an additional 3,139 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.