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

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Thursday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a sector perform rating and set a $267.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $265.36.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

NASDAQ ADP opened at $276.41 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $113.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.85, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $264.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $251.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Automatic Data Processing has a 12-month low of $205.53 and a 12-month high of $281.54.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $4.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.74 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 89.20% and a net margin of 19.54%. Automatic Data Processing’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.89 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing will post 10.04 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total value of $228,927.60. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 10,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,816,946. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total value of $228,927.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,816,946. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total transaction of $2,479,748.35. Following the sale, the director now owns 36,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,899,862.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 58,817 shares of company stock worth $15,999,208 in the last three months. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Automatic Data Processing

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 63.9% during the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 144,196 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,418,000 after acquiring an additional 56,196 shares during the last quarter. Verity & Verity LLC purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the second quarter worth approximately $386,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 43.2% in the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 169 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 38.2% during the 2nd quarter. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 3,870 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $923,000 after buying an additional 1,070 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heritage Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 2nd quarter valued at $774,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.