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

StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Thursday.

ADP has been the topic of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a sector perform rating and set a $267.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $282.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $265.36.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $276.41 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market cap of $113.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a 50 day moving average of $264.76 and a 200-day moving average of $251.56. Automatic Data Processing has a one year low of $205.53 and a one year high of $281.54.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.54% and a return on equity of 89.20%. The firm had revenue of $4.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.89 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.50%.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Don Mcguire sold 3,179 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total value of $872,254.02. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 41,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,440,548.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total transaction of $7,164,724.32. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 88,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,959,908.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Don Mcguire sold 3,179 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total transaction of $872,254.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 41,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,440,548.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 58,817 shares of company stock valued at $15,999,208. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ADP. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 105.2% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $467,000 after acquiring an additional 1,034 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,892 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $674,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,598 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $372,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. InterOcean Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. InterOcean Capital Group LLC now owns 3,934 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $916,000 after buying an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AXS Investments LLC increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. AXS Investments LLC now owns 14,414 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,358,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the period. 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.