Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) VP Brian L. Michaud Sells 362 Shares of Stock

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of ADP stock opened at $291.69 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $118.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $231.27 and a 1-year high of $309.63. 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $298.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $276.30.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.08 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a $1.54 dividend. This is an increase from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ADP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup lifted their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $289.91.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Automatic Data Processing

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ADP. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 3.4% in the third quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 1,054 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $482,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% in the third quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,485 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,902,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% during the second quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 5,698 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,360,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Austin Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 4.4% in the third quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 923 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.