TD Cowen Cuts Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) Price Target to $251.00

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) had its target price trimmed by TD Cowen from $253.00 to $251.00 in a report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Bank of America raised Automatic Data Processing from an underperform rating to a neutral rating and upped their target price for the stock from $217.00 to $243.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $254.00 to $250.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $280.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an underperform rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $255.42.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ:ADP opened at $241.89 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market cap of $99.37 billion, a PE ratio of 27.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $245.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $239.08. Automatic Data Processing has a fifty-two week low of $205.53 and a fifty-two week high of $256.84.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.79 by $0.09. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 93.09%. The company had revenue of $5.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.52 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing will post 9.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is currently 62.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 694 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.43, for a total transaction of $173,104.42. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,687 shares in the company, valued at $5,159,958.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 694 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.43, for a total transaction of $173,104.42. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 20,687 shares in the company, valued at $5,159,958.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP David Kwon sold 863 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $215,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,071,250. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,829 shares of company stock worth $965,274 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Automatic Data Processing

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 44,305 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,659,000 after purchasing an additional 1,399 shares during the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 27.3% in the 3rd quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 1,567 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $377,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 202,165 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $48,637,000 after acquiring an additional 3,400 shares during the last quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 53,999 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,991,000 after purchasing an additional 1,560 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 131,600 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,660,000 after purchasing an additional 9,800 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.