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

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,510,000 shares, a growth of 11.4% from the May 31st total of 4,050,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,420,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.2 days. Approximately 1.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $280.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $253.00 to $251.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $255.42.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $236.63 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $245.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $243.86. The company has a market capitalization of $96.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.78. Automatic Data Processing has a 1 year low of $205.53 and a 1 year high of $256.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.79 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $5.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 93.09%. The business’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.52 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing will post 9.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Automatic Data Processing

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. BlueSpruce Investments LP purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 1st quarter worth approximately $365,757,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth approximately $308,321,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 22,539.4% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 934,326 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $217,670,000 after buying an additional 930,199 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,543,317 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $825,487,000 after buying an additional 649,791 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 27.7% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,715,382 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $678,601,000 after purchasing an additional 589,831 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.