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

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

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $267.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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 report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays raised their price target on 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, Bank of America upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $275.33.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $289.43 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $278.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $257.89. Automatic Data Processing has a fifty-two week low of $205.53 and a fifty-two week high of $294.18. 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 firm has a market cap of $118.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $4.80 billion during 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.89 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.50%.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, CEO Maria Black sold 19,147 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total transaction of $5,253,553.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 92,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,464,384.66. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Automatic Data Processing news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 36,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,899,862.45. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 19,147 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total value of $5,253,553.86. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 92,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,464,384.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 58,817 shares of company stock worth $15,999,208. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Automatic Data Processing

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 14.2% during the first 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 last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted 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 buying an additional 264,466 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 195.1% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 51,607 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,888,000 after buying an additional 34,118 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the first quarter worth $2,924,000. Finally, LVW Advisors LLC raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 23.8% during the first quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 3,854 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $962,000 after acquiring an additional 740 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Company Profile

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.