Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $296.18.

ADP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed 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.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were 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 owns 3,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $929,007.90. This trade represents a 43.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Automatic Data Processing

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. 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 valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. 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 valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $302.99 on Tuesday. Automatic Data Processing has a 52 week low of $231.27 and a 52 week high of $322.84. The company’s 50 day moving average is $302.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $294.17. 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 has a market cap of $123.46 billion, a PE ratio of 31.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. Equities analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.23%.

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.