Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Receives $254.58 Consensus PT from Analysts

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the ten analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $254.58.

A number of research firms recently commented on ADP. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Bank of America raised shares of Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $217.00 to $243.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $267.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, February 1st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Don Mcguire sold 11,333 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $2,776,585.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 19,906 shares in the company, valued at $4,876,970. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Don Mcguire sold 11,333 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $2,776,585.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 19,906 shares in the company, valued at $4,876,970. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 368 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.01, for a total transaction of $90,899.68. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 20,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,018,996.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 15,162 shares of company stock worth $3,741,859. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Automatic Data Processing

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth $25,000. Aspect Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the second quarter valued at $30,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the first quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of ADP stock opened at $244.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $247.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $239.13. Automatic Data Processing has a 12 month low of $201.46 and a 12 month high of $256.84. The company has a market capitalization of $100.27 billion, a PE ratio of 28.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.78.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $4.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.65 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 95.22%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.96 EPS. Analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is currently 65.19%.

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.