Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,080,000 shares, an increase of 10.7% from the November 30th total of 5,490,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,680,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.6 days. Currently, 1.5% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ADP shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Barclays raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $292.97 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Automatic Data Processing has a 12-month low of $231.27 and a 12-month high of $309.63. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $298.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $275.74. The firm has a market cap of $119.37 billion, a PE ratio of 31.27, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79.

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

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $1.54 dividend. This is a positive change from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.74%.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $9,781,200. The trade was a 54.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Automatic Data Processing

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

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.