Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Monday.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of ADP opened at $300.57 on Monday. Automatic Data Processing has a 12-month low of $231.27 and a 12-month high of $311.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market cap of $122.47 billion, a PE ratio of 32.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $297.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $283.65.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total value of $210,236.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,856 shares in the company, valued at $20,077,721.04. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total value of $305,322.05. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 6,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,756,961. This trade represents a 14.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 42,129 shares of company stock valued at $12,604,872. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 1,054 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $292,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $482,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Aspiriant LLC lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 2,372 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $694,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,009 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,466,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, Petredis Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,485 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,902,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Automatic Data Processing

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.