Mizuho Issues Positive Forecast for Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) Stock Price

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) had its price target boosted by Mizuho from $321.00 to $332.00 in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on ADP. TD Securities raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $298.00 to $321.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $323.00 to $315.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $306.82.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

ADP stock opened at $306.82 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.55 billion, a PE ratio of 31.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s 50-day moving average is $308.06 and its 200-day moving average is $302.91. 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 $329.93.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $5.55 billion for 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%. The business’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.88 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing will post 9.93 EPS 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other 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 completion of the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $458,070.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 12,073 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Automatic Data Processing

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AMG National Trust Bank increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 11,334 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,318,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Sentinus LLC increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Sentinus LLC now owns 1,548 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $453,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 779 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,371 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,030,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 883 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.