Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday morning.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. TD Cowen lifted their price target 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 increased their price objective 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 0.0 %

NASDAQ ADP opened at $296.18 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $120.68 billion, a PE ratio of 31.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $297.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $279.99. Automatic Data Processing has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $309.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

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

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.74%.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total value of $305,322.05. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,961. This trade represents a 14.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 42,129 shares of company stock worth $12,604,872 in the last 90 days. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Automatic Data Processing

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,334,580 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,098,541,000 after buying an additional 424,328 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 2.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,517,642 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,906,257,000 after purchasing an additional 286,080 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 12.0% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,065,308 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $964,989,000 after purchasing an additional 435,093 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,548,165 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $846,912,000 after purchasing an additional 139,561 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,238,526 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $896,197,000 after purchasing an additional 41,709 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.