Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Expected to Announce Earnings of $1.47 Per Share

Analysts expect Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP – Get Rating) to report earnings of $1.47 per share for the current fiscal quarter, Zacks reports. Six analysts have made estimates for Automatic Data Processing’s earnings, with the highest EPS estimate coming in at $1.52 and the lowest estimate coming in at $1.43. Automatic Data Processing posted earnings per share of $1.20 in the same quarter last year, which indicates a positive year over year growth rate of 22.5%. The company is scheduled to issue its next earnings report on Monday, January 1st.

According to Zacks, analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing will report full-year earnings of $6.97 per share for the current fiscal year, with EPS estimates ranging from $6.86 to $7.03. For the next fiscal year, analysts anticipate that the business will report earnings of $7.75 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $7.48 to $7.92. Zacks Investment Research’s earnings per share averages are a mean average based on a survey of research analysts that follow Automatic Data Processing.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 27th. The business services provider reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.13. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 56.01% and a net margin of 17.77%. The business had revenue of $4.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

ADP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 27th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “hold” rating and set a $238.00 price objective (up previously from $222.00) on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Friday, March 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $203.00 to $234.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 28th. Mizuho raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 2nd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $212.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, May 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $231.43.

In other news, VP Deborah L. Dyson sold 2,787 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.55, for a total value of $653,690.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 26,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,253,806.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 312 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.07, for a total value of $66,789.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,663 shares in the company, valued at $355,998.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ADP. Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,182 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,435,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 13.4% during the third quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 33,927 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,783,000 after buying an additional 4,009 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 7.0% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 71,366 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $14,267,000 after acquiring an additional 4,660 shares in the last quarter. Haverford Trust Co raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 308,166 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $61,608,000 after acquiring an additional 8,866 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 68,170 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,630,000 after acquiring an additional 4,648 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.84% of the company’s stock.

Shares of ADP stock traded down $1.57 on Thursday, reaching $206.93. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 61,646 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,048,339. The company has a market capitalization of $86.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.57, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.82. Automatic Data Processing has a 12-month low of $187.29 and a 12-month high of $248.96. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $221.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $222.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 9th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.45%.

Automatic Data Processing Company Profile (Get Rating)

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.

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