Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.09 EPS

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The business services provider reported $2.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.79 by $0.09, Briefing.com reports. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 95.22%. The business had revenue of $5.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Automatic Data Processing updated its FY24 guidance to $9.05-$9.22 EPS and its FY 2024 guidance to 9.050-9.220 EPS.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of ADP stock traded down $4.71 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $242.62. 293,882 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,780,879. Automatic Data Processing has a fifty-two week low of $205.53 and a fifty-two week high of $256.84. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $246.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $239.11. The company has a market cap of $99.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 65.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ADP. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $267.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 11th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $280.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $217.00 to $243.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $258.55.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 368 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.01, for a total transaction of $90,899.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,018,996.19. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, VP Joseph Desilva sold 1,904 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total transaction of $485,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 17,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,380,645. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 368 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.01, for a total transaction of $90,899.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,018,996.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,829 shares of company stock worth $965,274. Corporate insiders own 0.26% 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.