Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

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

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on ADP. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Citigroup upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Automatic Data Processing stock traded up $2.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $291.69. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,044,189 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,034,794. 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 has a market cap of $118.85 billion, a PE ratio of 31.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing has a 52 week low of $231.27 and a 52 week high of $309.63. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $298.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $276.30.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.08 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $9,781,200. This represents a 54.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of Automatic Data Processing 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Automatic Data Processing

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