StockNews.com Downgrades Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) to Hold

StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Thursday morning.

ADP has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Bank of America raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $253.00 to $251.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $265.36.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of ADP stock opened at $275.91 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $112.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.79, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $253.29 and a 200-day moving average of $248.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Automatic Data Processing has a 1-year low of $205.53 and a 1-year high of $276.77.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.03. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 89.20% and a net margin of 19.54%. The business had revenue of $4.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.89 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of Automatic Data Processing 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 $2,816,946. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of Automatic Data Processing 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 $2,816,946. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 value of $7,164,724.32. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 88,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,959,908.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Automatic Data Processing

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 230.3% during the first quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC now owns 109 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the first quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, New Millennium Group LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the second quarter worth about $40,000. 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.