Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Wednesday.

ADP has been the topic of several other research reports. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $293.55.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $305.97 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $124.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.79. 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 has a twelve month low of $231.27 and a twelve month high of $311.67. The company’s fifty day moving average is $297.21 and its 200 day moving average is $285.99.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing will post 9.94 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.23%.

Insider Activity

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total transaction of $305,322.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,756,961. This represents a 14.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total value of $704,869.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $929,007.90. This represents a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Automatic Data Processing

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,355 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,031,000 after acquiring an additional 1,423 shares in the last quarter. PFG Advisors grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 11,312 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,311,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 5,959 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,744,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Prosperity Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at $207,000. Finally, Natural Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at $1,458,000. 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.