Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

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

A number of other research firms also recently commented on ADP. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

NASDAQ ADP traded up $3.05 on Monday, hitting $300.15. 1,635,822 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,628,170. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $297.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $282.77. The firm has a market cap of $122.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $309.63.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.08 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing will post 9.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $11,692,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,781,200. This trade represents a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 42,129 shares of company stock valued at $12,604,872 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Automatic Data Processing

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 4,431.5% in the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,315,295 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $640,712,000 after acquiring an additional 2,264,202 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 28,478.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,194,587 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,305,780,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190,407 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth about $160,920,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 332.3% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 623,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $172,497,000 after purchasing an additional 479,145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 2.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,334,580 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,098,541,000 after buying an additional 424,328 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Company Profile

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.