Morgan Stanley Increases Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) Price Target to $310.00

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) had its target price lifted by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $305.00 to $310.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target indicates a potential upside of 0.35% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. UBS Group decreased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $323.00 to $315.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $321.00 to $332.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, June 5th. TD Securities raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $298.00 to $321.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.08.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

ADP stock traded up $1.02 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $308.93. The stock had a trading volume of 654,134 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,703,657. The stock has a market cap of $125.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $308.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $302.86. Automatic Data Processing has a 1-year low of $231.27 and a 1-year high of $329.93.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.09. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. The business had revenue of $5.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.88 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 478 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.14, for a total value of $140,120.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,158,682.96. This trade represents a 6.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total value of $458,070.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 12,073 shares in the company, valued at $3,686,852.74. The trade was a 11.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Automatic Data Processing

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. eCIO Inc. bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the first quarter valued at approximately $276,000. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 1,268.2% in the first quarter. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC now owns 15,775 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,820,000 after purchasing an additional 14,622 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 6,085 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,859,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 36.1% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 132 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Modern Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 17.5% in the 1st quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,771 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,152,000 after acquiring an additional 562 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

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.