Automatic Data Processing, Inc. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $1.54 (NASDAQ:ADP)

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, April 8th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of 1.54 per share by the business services provider on Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th.

Automatic Data Processing has raised its dividend by an average of 14.4% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 49 consecutive years. Automatic Data Processing has a payout ratio of 56.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Automatic Data Processing to earn $10.82 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $6.16 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 56.9%.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

ADP traded up $7.33 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $299.54. The company had a trading volume of 2,187,994 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,671,064. The business has a 50-day moving average of $302.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $297.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Automatic Data Processing has a 1 year low of $231.27 and a 1 year high of $322.84. The company has a market cap of $122.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.74.

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Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total transaction of $704,869.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $929,007.90. The trade was a 43.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total value of $458,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 12,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,686,852.74. This represents a 11.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,364 shares of company stock valued at $1,613,094 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 92.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,026 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,808 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $2,935,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $302.30.

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.