StockNews.com Upgrades Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) to Buy

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Friday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ ADP opened at $291.69 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market cap of $118.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.13, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a 50 day moving average of $298.43 and a 200-day moving average of $276.63. Automatic Data Processing has a 1-year low of $231.27 and a 1-year high of $309.63.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.08 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $11,692,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 32,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,781,200. This represents a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Automatic Data Processing

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ADP. Accredited Investors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4,431.5% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,315,295 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $640,712,000 after acquiring an additional 2,264,202 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings 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 period. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at $160,920,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 332.3% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 623,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $172,497,000 after purchasing an additional 479,145 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 242.4% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 644,135 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $153,749,000 after purchasing an additional 456,027 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.