Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) PT Raised to $235.00

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) had its target price upped by Evercore ISI from $227.00 to $235.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an underperform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a sector perform rating and set a $267.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Bank of America raised shares of Automatic Data Processing from an underperform rating to a neutral rating and upped their target price for the stock from $217.00 to $243.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Automatic Data Processing from an underperform rating to a peer perform rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a hold rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, November 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $253.08.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.6 %

ADP opened at $249.74 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $102.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.07, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.78. Automatic Data Processing has a twelve month low of $201.46 and a twelve month high of $256.84. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $246.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $239.05.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $4.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.65 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 95.22%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.96 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 7th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.19%.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Joseph Desilva sold 1,904 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total transaction of $485,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 17,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,380,645. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Joseph Desilva sold 1,904 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total transaction of $485,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 17,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,380,645. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP John Ayala sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.13, for a total transaction of $352,695.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 19,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,510,498.79. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 16,662 shares of company stock valued at $4,094,554. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Automatic Data Processing

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marotta Asset Management increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Marotta Asset Management now owns 1,395 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $336,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 34.7% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 159 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Investment Group Inc. increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Heritage Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,201 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $513,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 5,254 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,224,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Argus Investors Counsel Inc. increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 8,863 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,065,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

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.