Citigroup Boosts Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) Price Target to $295.00

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) had its target price hoisted by Citigroup from $260.00 to $295.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on ADP. Barclays lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $282.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a sector perform rating and issued a $267.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $267.83.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

ADP opened at $272.88 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.79. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $267.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $252.40. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 89.20% and a net margin of 19.54%. The company had revenue of $4.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the business’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 transaction of $228,927.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,816,946. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, VP Don Mcguire sold 3,179 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total transaction of $872,254.02. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 41,696 shares in the company, valued at $11,440,548.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 10,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,816,946. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 58,817 shares of company stock valued at $15,999,208 over the last 90 days. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Automatic Data Processing

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 63.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 56,196 shares in the last quarter. Verity & Verity LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 2nd quarter valued at $386,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 38.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,070 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heritage Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 2nd quarter valued at $774,000. 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.