Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Receives $302.30 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $302.30.

Several brokerages have issued reports on ADP. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total value of $210,236.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,077,721.04. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP David Foskett sold 1,004 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.29, for a total transaction of $290,447.16. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,723,589.82. This trade represents a 14.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,089 shares of company stock valued at $2,113,777. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Automatic Data Processing

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ADP. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Group LTD increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 50.7% in the 4th quarter. Main Street Group LTD now owns 113 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 121.8% in the 4th quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 122 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ADP opened at $307.23 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.18 billion, a PE ratio of 32.04, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.74. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $304.44 and its 200 day moving average is $296.92. Automatic Data Processing has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $322.84. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.23%.

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.