UBS Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) Stock Price

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) had its price objective lowered by UBS Group from $323.00 to $315.00 in a research note published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the business services provider’s stock.

ADP has been the subject of a number of other research reports. TD Securities raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $298.00 to $321.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $306.82.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.9%

ADP opened at $306.82 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $308.06 and its 200-day moving average is $302.85. Automatic Data Processing has a 52-week low of $231.27 and a 52-week high of $329.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.88 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 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 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is presently 63.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 478 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.14, for a total value of $140,120.92. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,158,682.96. The trade was a 6.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total transaction of $458,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,686,852.74. This represents a 11.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Automatic Data Processing

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ADP. Activest Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2,600.0% in the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 81 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the first quarter worth $29,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the first quarter worth $30,000. Main Street Group LTD lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 50.7% in the fourth quarter. Main Street Group LTD now owns 113 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 121.8% in the fourth quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 122 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.