By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP – Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, January 15th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of 1.54 per share by the business services provider on Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%.
Automatic Data Processing has raised its dividend by an average of 14.4% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 49 consecutive years. Automatic Data Processing has a payout ratio of 56.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Automatic Data Processing to earn $10.79 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $6.16 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 57.1%.
Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance
Shares of NASDAQ:ADP traded up $1.68 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $293.37. 1,694,025 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,526,322. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $298.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $279.35. Automatic Data Processing has a 52-week low of $231.27 and a 52-week high of $309.63. The company has a market cap of $119.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79.
Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. The company had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.08 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.
Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing
In related news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total value of $210,236.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,077,721.04. The trade was a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $11,692,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 32,604 shares in the company, valued at $9,781,200. The trade was a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 42,129 shares of company stock worth $12,604,872 in the last ninety days. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several analysts have commented on ADP shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective 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. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $289.91.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Automatic Data Processing
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.
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