Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) Price Target Raised to $298.00

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) had its price target increased by TD Securities from $296.00 to $298.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. TD Securities currently has a hold rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on 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 boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $303.55.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of ADP opened at $303.57 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $123.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Automatic Data Processing has a 1 year low of $231.27 and a 1 year high of $322.84. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $298.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $298.75.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $5.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.49 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. Automatic Data Processing’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.88 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is currently 63.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total value of $458,070.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,073 shares in the company, valued at $3,686,852.74. This represents a 11.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 478 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.14, for a total transaction of $140,120.92. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,158,682.96. This trade represents a 6.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,775 shares of company stock worth $1,447,893 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 1st quarter worth $2,836,000. Forte Capital LLC ADV lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 7.8% in the first quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 1,342 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $410,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 44.2% during the 1st quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 13,890 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,244,000 after acquiring an additional 4,259 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 5,107 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,560,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC now owns 5,367 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,640,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 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.