Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Short Interest Update

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,740,000 shares, an increase of 22.1% from the August 31st total of 5,520,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,610,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.2 days. Currently, 1.7% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $272.88 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $267.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $252.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing has a fifty-two week low of $205.53 and a fifty-two week high of $281.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.03. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 89.20% and a net margin of 19.54%. The company had revenue of $4.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.89 EPS. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.50%.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total transaction of $228,927.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,410 shares in the company, valued at $2,816,946. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP Don Mcguire sold 3,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total value of $872,254.02. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 41,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,440,548.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total transaction of $228,927.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,410 shares in the company, valued at $2,816,946. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 58,817 shares of company stock worth $15,999,208. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Automatic Data Processing

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlueSpruce Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the first quarter worth $365,757,000. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,543,317 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $825,487,000 after buying an additional 649,791 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 27.7% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,715,382 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $678,601,000 after buying an additional 589,831 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 238.1% during the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 784,003 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $195,797,000 after acquiring an additional 552,096 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 242.4% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 644,135 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $153,749,000 after acquiring an additional 456,027 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $282.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Bank of America increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $267.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $267.83.

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.