Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) Given Sector Perform Rating at Royal Bank of Canada

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP)‘s stock had its “sector perform” rating restated by equities research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $315.00 target price on the business services provider’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective points to a potential upside of 4.00% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays boosted 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. UBS Group lifted 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 upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $291.27.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

NASDAQ:ADP traded up $2.33 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $302.90. 377,979 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,665,673. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $297.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $283.77. The firm has a market cap of $123.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.79. 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 52 week low of $231.27 and a 52 week high of $311.67.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing 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 transaction of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the company’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $9,781,200. This trade represents a 54.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 42,129 shares of company stock worth $12,604,872 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Automatic Data Processing

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.