Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) Lowered 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 report released on Thursday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on ADP. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $282.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a sector perform rating and set a $267.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $265.36.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ ADP opened at $276.41 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $113.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.85, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.79. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $264.76 and its 200 day moving average is $251.56. Automatic Data Processing has a 52 week low of $205.53 and a 52 week high of $281.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.03. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.54% and a return on equity of 89.20%. The firm had revenue of $4.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.74 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 62.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total value of $7,164,724.32. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 88,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,959,908.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 36,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,899,862.45. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total value of $7,164,724.32. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 88,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,959,908.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 58,817 shares of company stock worth $15,999,208. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Automatic Data Processing

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ADP. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 39,769,440 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,932,020,000 after acquiring an additional 173,298 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,492,425 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,279,570,000 after purchasing an additional 249,566 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,065,308 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $964,989,000 after purchasing an additional 435,093 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.3% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,625,186 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $905,354,000 after buying an additional 81,869 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.1% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,548,165 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $846,912,000 after buying an additional 139,561 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently 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.