Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) Price Target Raised to $350.00

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) had its target price upped by Barclays from $325.00 to $350.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

ADP has been the subject of several other research reports. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group lifted 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. Mizuho upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $293.55.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ADP opened at $308.15 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $297.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $285.67. Automatic Data Processing has a 1-year low of $231.27 and a 1-year high of $311.67. The firm has a market cap of $125.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. Analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.23%.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,961. This trade represents a 14.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Automatic Data Processing

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Accredited Investors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4,431.5% in the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,315,295 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $640,712,000 after acquiring an additional 2,264,202 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 28,478.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,194,587 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,305,780,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190,407 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 41,710.7% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,090,422 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $319,199,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087,814 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter valued at about $160,920,000. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 332.3% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 623,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $172,497,000 after buying an additional 479,145 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.