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. Its offerings include payroll, benefits administration, talent management, HR management, workforce management, insurance, retirement, and compliance services. The PEO Services segment provides HR outsourcing solutions to small and mid-sized businesses through a co-employment model. This segment offers benefits package, protection and compliance, talent engagement, comprehensive outsourcing, and recruitment process outsourcing services. The company was founded in 1949 and is headquartered in Roseland, New Jersey.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 28th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 1st. Wolfe Research dropped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $235.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 20th. Barclays raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing to $280.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Cowen raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $225.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $233.73.
Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 1.1 %
Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $252.47 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Automatic Data Processing has a 52 week low of $192.26 and a 52 week high of $255.00. The company has a market capitalization of $104.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $219.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $216.58.
Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 27th. The business services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $4.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.05 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 66.25% and a net margin of 17.87%. Automatic Data Processing's quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.20 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing will post 8.04 EPS for the current year.
Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 8th. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is currently 59.34%.
Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing
In related news, VP Augusto J. Blanchard sold 567 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.64, for a total transaction of $119,432.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,238 shares in the company, valued at $892,692.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Augusto J. Blanchard sold 567 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.64, for a total value of $119,432.88. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,238 shares in the company, valued at $892,692.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Donald Weinstein sold 10,150 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $2,537,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 41,035 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,258,750. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.