Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Increases Dividend to $1.54 Per Share

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, November 6th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of 1.54 per share by the business services provider on Wednesday, January 1st. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. This is an increase from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40.

Automatic Data Processing has raised its dividend payment by an average of 12.1% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 48 years. Automatic Data Processing has a payout ratio of 56.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Automatic Data Processing to earn $10.80 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 51.9%.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $305.18 on Thursday. Automatic Data Processing has a 12 month low of $219.21 and a 12 month high of $306.71. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $282.92 and its 200-day moving average is $261.11. 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 capitalization of $124.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.57, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.08 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing will post 9.94 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $289.91.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total value of $228,927.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,816,946. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total value of $228,927.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,816,946. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total value of $2,479,748.35. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,899,862.45. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 58,817 shares of company stock worth $15,999,208. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.