Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Saturday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group raised 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. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, TD Cowen increased 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP traded down $5.04 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $286.85. The stock had a trading volume of 2,292,441 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,475,971. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $298.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $278.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $116.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.61, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. Automatic Data Processing has a 1-year low of $231.27 and a 1-year high of $309.63.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 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 for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.08 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $1.54 dividend. 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%. This is a positive change from Automatic Data Processing's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is presently 65.74%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $11,692,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 32,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,781,200. This represents a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP David Foskett sold 1,004 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.29, for a total transaction of $290,447.16. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,958 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,723,589.82. This represents a 14.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 41,062 shares of company stock worth $12,299,550. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Automatic Data Processing

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ADP. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter worth $26,000. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.