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

Royal Bank of Canada restated their sector perform rating on shares of Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) in a report issued on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $315.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on ADP. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group upped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. TD Securities upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $298.00 to $321.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $305.64.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ADP opened at $326.17 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $132.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $305.55 and its 200-day moving average is $302.43. Automatic Data Processing has a 1-year low of $231.27 and a 1-year high of $327.99.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.49 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.88 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 63.05%.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total transaction of $458,070.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 12,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,686,852.74. This represents a 11.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 478 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.14, for a total value of $140,120.92. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,364 shares in the company, valued at $2,158,682.96. This trade represents a 6.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,451 shares of company stock worth $743,024. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Automatic Data Processing

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Activest Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2,600.0% in the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 81 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Clarity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Main Street Group LTD raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

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.