Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Friday morning.

ADP has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. UBS Group upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ADP opened at $291.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Automatic Data Processing has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $309.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.85 billion, a PE ratio of 31.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $298.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $276.85.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. The company had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.08 EPS. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This is a positive change from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 65.74%.

Insider Activity

In other Automatic Data Processing 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the company’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 directly owns 32,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,781,200. The trade was a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,347 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,443,000 after purchasing an additional 929 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 39.5% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,495 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $438,000 after acquiring an additional 423 shares during the period. IMPACTfolio LLC purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth approximately $204,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 529,690 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $146,581,000 after acquiring an additional 22,766 shares during the period. Finally, Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. now owns 3,796 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,050,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. 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.