Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) Receives New Coverage from Analysts at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) in a research report released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage issued a sector perform rating and a $267.00 price objective on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on ADP. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $275.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Friday, July 28th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $235.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $255.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Friday, June 2nd. They set a neutral rating and a $230.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $249.57.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

ADP opened at $252.85 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $241.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $225.43. The company has a market cap of $104.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.84, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Automatic Data Processing has a 52-week low of $201.46 and a 52-week high of $274.92.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The business services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $4.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.39 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 18.94% and a return on equity of 107.15%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.50 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 7th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is currently 60.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 7,049 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.75, for a total transaction of $1,795,732.75. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 67,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,079,459. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Automatic Data Processing

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ADP. Ten Capital Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 110.7% in the 1st quarter. Ten Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 118 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. 79.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Automatic Data Processing

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.