Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on ADP. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $293.55.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $305.97 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $124.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $297.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $285.99. Automatic Data Processing has a twelve month low of $231.27 and a twelve month high of $311.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. As a group, research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total transaction of $210,236.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,077,721.04. The trade was a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Automatic Data Processing

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AMG National Trust Bank grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 11,334 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,318,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 3.4% in the third quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 1,054 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $292,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 2.1% during the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $482,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Aspiriant LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 2,372 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $694,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, Precedent Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,009 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,466,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. 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.