Automatic Data Processing, Inc. Announces Quarterly Dividend of $1.54 (NASDAQ:ADP)

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, January 15th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of 1.54 per share by the business services provider on Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%.

Automatic Data Processing has increased its dividend by an average of 14.4% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 49 years. Automatic Data Processing has a payout ratio of 56.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Automatic Data Processing to earn $10.79 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $6.16 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 57.1%.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of ADP stock opened at $293.37 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $298.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $279.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing has a 12 month low of $231.27 and a 12 month high of $309.63.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. The business had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.08 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP David Foskett sold 1,004 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.29, for a total value of $290,447.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,723,589.82. This represents a 14.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 42,129 shares of company stock valued at $12,604,872. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ADP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen raised 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 report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $289.91.

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.