Automatic Data Processing (ADP) Competitors

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

Does the media prefer ADP or MA?

In the previous week, Mastercard had 26 more articles in the media than Automatic Data Processing. MarketBeat recorded 70 mentions for Mastercard and 44 mentions for Automatic Data Processing. Mastercard's average media sentiment score of 1.07 beat Automatic Data Processing's score of 0.99 indicating that Mastercard is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Automatic Data Processing	32 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	2 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Mastercard	52 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	10 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is ADP or MA more profitable?

Mastercard has a net margin of 45.71% compared to Automatic Data Processing's net margin of 19.76%. Mastercard's return on equity of 188.47% beat Automatic Data Processing's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Automatic Data Processing	19.76%	80.86%	6.83%
Mastercard	45.71%	188.47%	30.05%

Do analysts prefer ADP or MA?

Automatic Data Processing currently has a consensus price target of $305.64, indicating a potential downside of 2.82%. Mastercard has a consensus price target of $610.00, indicating a potential upside of 3.45%. 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
Automatic Data Processing	1 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.18
Mastercard	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	24 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.88

Which has better valuation and earnings, ADP or MA?

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
Automatic Data Processing	$19.04B	6.70	$3.75B	$9.77	32.19
Mastercard	$29.07B	18.49	$12.87B	$14.26	41.35

Is ADP or MA a better dividend stock?

Automatic Data Processing pays an annual dividend of $6.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Mastercard pays an annual dividend of $3.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Automatic Data Processing pays out 63.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Mastercard pays out 21.3% 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. Automatic Data Processing has raised its dividend for 49 consecutive years and Mastercard has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years. Automatic Data Processing is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has more volatility and risk, ADP or MA?

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

Does the MarketBeat Community favor ADP or MA?

Mastercard received 922 more outperform votes than Automatic Data Processing when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 73.15% of users gave Mastercard an outperform vote while only 57.89% of users gave Automatic Data Processing an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Automatic Data Processing	Outperform Votes 642 57.89%	Underperform Votes 467 42.11%
Mastercard	Outperform Votes 1564 73.15%	Underperform Votes 574 26.85%

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

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

Summary

Mastercard beats Automatic Data Processing on 19 of the 22 factors compared between the two stocks.