Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Announces $1.54 Quarterly Dividend

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, January 15th, RTT News reports. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th.

Automatic Data Processing has raised its dividend by an average of 14.4% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 49 years. Automatic Data Processing has a dividend payout ratio of 56.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Automatic Data Processing to earn $10.82 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 56.9%.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ADP opened at $292.44 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $302.27 and a 200-day moving average of $294.33. The firm has a market cap of $119.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. Automatic Data Processing has a twelve month low of $231.27 and a twelve month high of $322.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. Analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ADP. Barclays raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.18.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total transaction of $704,869.20. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $929,007.90. This trade represents a 43.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Automatic Data Processing

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 92.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,026 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,808 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $2,935,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. 80.03% of the stock is owned by 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.