Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) Price Target Raised to $305.00 at Stifel Nicolaus

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) had its price target increased by Stifel Nicolaus to $305.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning,Stock Target Advisor reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on ADP. Barclays upped 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 note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, TD Securities boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $296.00 to $298.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $303.55.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of ADP opened at $303.57 on Friday. Automatic Data Processing has a one year low of $231.27 and a one year high of $322.84. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $298.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $298.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $123.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $5.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.49 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.88 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.05%.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 478 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.14, for a total transaction of $140,120.92. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,364 shares in the company, valued at $2,158,682.96. This trade represents a 6.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total value of $458,070.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,686,852.74. The trade was a 11.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 2,451 shares of company stock worth $743,024. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Automatic Data Processing

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ADP. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 22.6% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,466 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,066,000 after purchasing an additional 1,378 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 8.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 667,068 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $194,117,000 after buying an additional 51,828 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 529,690 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $146,581,000 after buying an additional 22,766 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 39.5% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,495 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $438,000 after acquiring an additional 423 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,347 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,443,000 after acquiring an additional 929 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.