Q3 2020 Earnings Estimate for Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) Issued By Northcoast Research

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) – Stock analysts at Northcoast Research reduced their Q3 2020 earnings estimates for Automatic Data Processing in a research report issued on Thursday, January 30th, according to Zacks Investment Research. Northcoast Research analyst K. Mehta now forecasts that the business services provider will post earnings per share of $1.96 for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $1.97. Northcoast Research also issued estimates for Automatic Data Processing’s Q4 2020 earnings at $1.35 EPS and FY2021 earnings at $6.90 EPS.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Credit Suisse Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Sunday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $174.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wolfe Research downgraded Automatic Data Processing from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, BidaskClub upgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. The stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $186.20.

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $179.10 on Friday. Automatic Data Processing has a 1 year low of $144.04 and a 1 year high of $180.47. The company has a market cap of $77.83 billion, a PE ratio of 31.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $173.07 and its 200 day moving average is $167.32.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.69 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 46.96% and a net margin of 16.97%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.34 earnings per share.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 34,935 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,957,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 824,548 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $140,585,000 after purchasing an additional 16,726 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth approximately $253,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc RI boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc RI now owns 22,355 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,814,000 after purchasing an additional 2,311 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smith Moore & CO. boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 3,054 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $520,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. 80.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

In other news, VP Don Mcguire sold 326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.07, for a total value of $56,094.82. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,190,036.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 48,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.51, for a total value of $8,184,699.21. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 144,899 shares in the company, valued at $24,416,930.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 63,099 shares of company stock worth $10,740,750. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, November 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to purchase up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 66.79%.

Automatic Data Processing Company Profile

Automatic Data Processing, Inc provides business process outsourcing services worldwide. It operates through two segments, Employer Services and Professional Employer Organization (PEO) Services. The Employer Services segment offers various human resources (HR) outsourcing and technology-based human capital management solutions.