Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Increases Dividend to $1.54 Per Share

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, November 6th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of 1.54 per share by the business services provider on Wednesday, January 1st. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. This is an increase from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40.

Automatic Data Processing has raised its dividend by an average of 12.1% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 48 years. Automatic Data Processing has a dividend payout ratio of 56.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Automatic Data Processing to earn $10.80 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 51.9%.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 4.8 %

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $305.18 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $124.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The business has a 50-day moving average of $282.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $261.11. Automatic Data Processing has a 1 year low of $219.21 and a 1 year high of $306.71.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. The business had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.08 EPS. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing will post 9.94 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ADP has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. UBS Group lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $289.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total transaction of $2,479,748.35. Following the sale, the director now owns 36,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,899,862.45. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total value of $228,927.60. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 10,410 shares in the company, valued at $2,816,946. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total value of $2,479,748.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 36,741 shares in the company, valued at $9,899,862.45. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 58,817 shares of company stock worth $15,999,208. Corporate insiders own 0.21% 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.