StockNews.com Upgrades Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) to “Buy”

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Citigroup raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. 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 note on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

ADP opened at $296.18 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $120.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.61, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. Automatic Data Processing has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $309.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $297.90 and a 200 day moving average of $280.60.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $4.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.08 earnings per share. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total transaction of $210,236.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,856 shares in the company, valued at $20,077,721.04. The trade was a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total value 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 approximately $1,756,961. This trade represents a 14.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 42,129 shares of company stock worth $12,604,872 over the last quarter. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Automatic Data Processing

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 2nd quarter valued at about $314,000. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,032,000. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 28.5% during the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,458 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,258,000 after buying an additional 2,096 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.7% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 68,079 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $16,250,000 after acquiring an additional 3,682 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 120,769 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,826,000 after acquiring an additional 4,427 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.