Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) Given New $310.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) had its price objective lifted by Morgan Stanley from $305.00 to $310.00 in a report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. TD Securities raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $298.00 to $321.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $323.00 to $315.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 13th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $321.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, June 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $307.08.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $306.77 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $124.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $309.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $302.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Automatic Data Processing has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $329.93.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.49 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.79% and a return on equity of 77.33%. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.88 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.05%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total value of $458,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,686,852.74. This trade represents a 11.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 478 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.14, for a total transaction of $140,120.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,158,682.96. This represents a 6.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Automatic Data Processing

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Activest Wealth Management boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 2,600.0% during the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 81 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Clarity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the first quarter worth $29,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the first quarter worth $30,000. Main Street Group LTD boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 50.7% during the fourth quarter. Main Street Group LTD now owns 113 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 121.8% during the fourth quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 122 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.