Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) Stock Price Expected to Rise, UBS Group Analyst Says

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) had its target price boosted by UBS Group from $318.00 to $324.00 in a research note published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the business services provider’s stock.

ADP has been the subject of several other reports. StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.18.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

NASDAQ:ADP opened at $302.46 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $123.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing has a 12-month low of $231.27 and a 12-month high of $322.84. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $301.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $293.26.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total transaction of $704,869.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at $929,007.90. This trade represents a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total value of $305,322.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,961. This trade represents a 14.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Automatic Data Processing

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 76.0% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 265,166 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $73,379,000 after acquiring an additional 114,473 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 2.5% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 162,287 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $44,910,000 after purchasing an additional 3,887 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 4.2% in the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 31,126 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,614,000 after purchasing an additional 1,253 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 95.7% during the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 773 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $214,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 48.3% during the third quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,498 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $415,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is 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.