Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) Earns “Sector Perform” Rating from Royal Bank of Canada

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP)‘s stock had its “sector perform” rating reiterated by equities research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $315.00 price objective on the business services provider’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target suggests a potential upside of 4.00% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on ADP. Mizuho upped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $291.27.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.8 %

Automatic Data Processing stock traded up $2.33 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $302.90. The company had a trading volume of 377,979 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,665,673. The stock has a market cap of $123.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.33, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Automatic Data Processing has a 1 year low of $231.27 and a 1 year high of $311.67. The business has a fifty day moving average of $297.23 and a 200 day moving average of $283.77.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Automatic Data Processing 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 value of $210,236.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 68,856 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at $4,027,233.98. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 42,129 shares of company stock valued at $12,604,872 in the last 90 days. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,334,580 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,098,541,000 after purchasing an additional 424,328 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,517,642 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,906,257,000 after acquiring an additional 286,080 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,238,526 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $896,197,000 after purchasing an additional 41,709 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4,431.5% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,315,295 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $640,712,000 after purchasing an additional 2,264,202 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 0.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,252,807 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $623,419,000 after buying an additional 17,717 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.