Jefferies Financial Group Boosts Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) Price Target to $290.00

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) had its price target hoisted by Jefferies Financial Group from $260.00 to $290.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on ADP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $267.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $282.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $275.33.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ ADP opened at $287.96 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $278.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $258.11. The company has a market capitalization of $117.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.17, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing has a 1-year low of $205.53 and a 1-year high of $294.18.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $4.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.74 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 89.20% and a net margin of 19.54%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.89 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total value of $2,479,748.35. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Automatic Data Processing news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total transaction of $2,479,748.35. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 36,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,899,862.45. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $23,959,908.96. This trade 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 valued at $15,999,208. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Automatic Data Processing

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 801,857 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $200,256,000 after purchasing an additional 99,515 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 70.7% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 638,507 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $152,405,000 after purchasing an additional 264,466 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 195.1% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 51,607 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,888,000 after purchasing an additional 34,118 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,924,000. Finally, LVW Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 23.8% in the 1st quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 3,854 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $962,000 after acquiring an additional 740 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is 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.