Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have given a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $312.6667.

Several brokerages recently commented on ADP. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $315.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $288.00 to $272.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday. Dbs Bank upgraded Automatic Data Processing to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $340.00 to $295.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of ADP stock opened at $260.22 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $105.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.69 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $270.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $293.79. Automatic Data Processing has a 1 year low of $247.18 and a 1 year high of $329.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $5.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.14 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 70.63% and a net margin of 19.79%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.33 earnings per share. Automatic Data Processing has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.811-11.011 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $1.70 dividend. This is a boost from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.54. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is currently 67.13%.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 597 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.90, for a total value of $177,249.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 10,541 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,129,622.90. This represents a 5.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 8,728 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.43, for a total value of $2,604,697.04. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 80,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,032,866.33. This represents a 9.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Automatic Data Processing

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the first quarter valued at approximately $688,000. Advisory Alpha LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 130.2% during the 1st quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 4,416 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,349,000 after buying an additional 2,498 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co now owns 32,478 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,923,000 after buying an additional 1,375 shares in the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 18.3% in the 2nd quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 13,578 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,187,000 after buying an additional 2,105 shares during the period. Finally, Morningstar Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,795,000. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

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.