Automatic Data Processing (ADP) Competitors

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) and Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) are both large-cap data processing & outsourced services companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations and media sentiment.

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in MA or ADP?

97.3% of Mastercard shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 80.0% of Automatic Data Processing shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of Mastercard shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Automatic Data Processing shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Do analysts recommend MA or ADP?

Mastercard currently has a consensus price target of $611.50, indicating a potential upside of 8.25%. Automatic Data Processing has a consensus price target of $307.08, indicating a potential downside of 0.98%. Given Mastercard's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Mastercard is more favorable than Automatic Data Processing.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mastercard	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	24 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.88
Automatic Data Processing	1 Sell rating(s)	8 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.17

Is MA or ADP a better dividend stock?

Mastercard pays an annual dividend of $3.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Automatic Data Processing pays an annual dividend of $6.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Mastercard pays out 21.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Automatic Data Processing pays out 63.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Mastercard has increased its dividend for 13 consecutive years and Automatic Data Processing has increased its dividend for 49 consecutive years. Automatic Data Processing is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Is MA or ADP more profitable?

Mastercard has a net margin of 45.21% compared to Automatic Data Processing's net margin of 19.79%. Mastercard's return on equity of 196.87% beat Automatic Data Processing's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mastercard	45.21%	196.87%	29.77%
Automatic Data Processing	19.79%	77.33%	7.18%

Does the media prefer MA or ADP?

In the previous week, Mastercard had 43 more articles in the media than Automatic Data Processing. MarketBeat recorded 88 mentions for Mastercard and 45 mentions for Automatic Data Processing. Automatic Data Processing's average media sentiment score of 1.35 beat Mastercard's score of 1.13 indicating that Automatic Data Processing is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Mastercard	74 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	8 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Automatic Data Processing	38 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more risk & volatility, MA or ADP?

Mastercard has a beta of 1.05, suggesting that its stock price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Automatic Data Processing has a beta of 0.79, suggesting that its stock price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has better earnings & valuation, MA or ADP?

Mastercard has higher revenue and earnings than Automatic Data Processing. Automatic Data Processing is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Mastercard, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Mastercard	$28.17B	18.28	$12.87B	$14.26	39.61
Automatic Data Processing	$19.20B	6.56	$3.75B	$9.77	31.74

Summary

Mastercard beats Automatic Data Processing on 16 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.