Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,210,000 shares, a decrease of 20.0% from the October 31st total of 6,510,000 shares. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,590,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.3 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on ADP. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $289.91.

Insider Activity

In other Automatic Data Processing news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total transaction 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 20.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $11,692,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,781,200. This trade represents a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 70,504 shares of company stock worth $20,298,056. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Automatic Data Processing

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 79,249 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $19,792,000 after purchasing an additional 4,353 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the first quarter worth $36,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,754 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $424,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 105.4% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,003 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,433,000 after acquiring an additional 3,081 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 2,426 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $579,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 0.0 %

ADP traded up $0.01 during trading on Friday, hitting $306.93. 805,046 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,632,589. 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 50 day simple moving average of $292.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $268.15. The firm has a market cap of $125.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing has a 1 year low of $227.12 and a 1 year high of $309.63.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.08 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This is a boost from Automatic Data Processing's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.74%.

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.