Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Short Interest Up 5.4% in November

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADPGet Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 5,490,000 shares, an increase of 5.4% from the November 15th total of 5,210,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,630,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days. Currently, 1.4% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of ADP stock opened at $296.81 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market cap of $120.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.68, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a 50 day moving average of $297.32 and a 200-day moving average of $272.37. Automatic Data Processing has a 12-month low of $227.12 and a 12-month high of $309.63.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADPGet Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.08 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This is a positive change from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $11,692,500.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares in the company, valued at $9,781,200. This represents a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Automatic Data Processing

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. now owns 3,796 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,050,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 6.6% in the third quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 955 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 667,068 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $194,117,000 after purchasing an additional 51,828 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 220.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 46,379 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,834,000 after purchasing an additional 31,904 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 22.6% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,466 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,066,000 after purchasing an additional 1,378 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on ADP. UBS Group increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $289.91.

View Our Latest Analysis on ADP

About Automatic Data Processing

(Get Free Report)

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.

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