Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Short Interest Up 6.6% in January

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,810,000 shares, an increase of 6.6% from the January 15th total of 5,450,000 shares. Currently, 1.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,740,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.3 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ADP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Mizuho lifted 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 report on Monday, November 4th. Two equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $293.55.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of ADP stock traded up $3.27 on Wednesday, reaching $313.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,407,682 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,615,934. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $297.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $289.42. Automatic Data Processing has a 1 year low of $231.27 and a 1 year high of $313.72. The company has a market capitalization of $127.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. Analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.23%.

Insider Activity

In other Automatic Data Processing news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total transaction of $210,236.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 68,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,077,721.04. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 approximately $4,027,233.98. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Automatic Data Processing

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Main Street Group LTD grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 50.7% during the fourth quarter. Main Street Group LTD now owns 113 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 121.8% during the 4th quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 122 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.