Short Interest in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Declines By 12.1%

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,560,000 shares, a decrease of 12.1% from the March 15th total of 5,190,000 shares. Approximately 1.1% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,870,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.2 %

Automatic Data Processing stock traded up $0.53 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $244.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 195,933 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,815,823. Automatic Data Processing has a 52-week low of $201.46 and a 52-week high of $256.84. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $247.82 and its 200 day moving average is $239.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company has a market cap of $100.48 billion, a PE ratio of 28.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.78.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $4.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.65 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 95.22% and a net margin of 19.14%. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.96 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is presently 65.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on ADP. Bank of America raised shares of Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $217.00 to $243.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $267.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $254.58.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Don Mcguire sold 11,333 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total value of $2,776,585.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 19,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,876,970. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP Joseph Desilva sold 1,904 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total transaction of $485,520.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 17,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,380,645. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Don Mcguire sold 11,333 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $2,776,585.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 19,906 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,876,970. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,162 shares of company stock valued at $3,741,859 over the last ninety days. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Automatic Data Processing

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ADP. Ardent Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter valued at $392,000. Americana Partners LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 22,228 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,330,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the period. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 36.7% during the fourth quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 19,800 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,613,000 after buying an additional 5,318 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,635,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 6.4% in the third quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC now owns 2,907 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $695,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

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.