Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $308.95 and last traded at $308.74, with a volume of 178030 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $306.78.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ADP has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group upped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $284.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $262.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market cap of $125.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. The company had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.08 EPS. Automatic Data Processing’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. This is a boost from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is currently 59.77%.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, CEO Maria Black sold 19,147 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total transaction of $5,253,553.86. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 92,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,464,384.66. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total transaction of $2,479,748.35. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,899,862.45. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 19,147 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total value of $5,253,553.86. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 92,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,464,384.66. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 97,792 shares of company stock worth $27,691,708. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Automatic Data Processing

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ADP. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 801,857 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $200,256,000 after acquiring an additional 99,515 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 70.7% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 638,507 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $152,405,000 after purchasing an additional 264,466 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.7% during the first quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 247,474 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $61,804,000 after acquiring an additional 4,253 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 23.8% in the 2nd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 26,610 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,352,000 after buying an additional 5,114 shares during the period. Finally, Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter worth approximately $209,000. Hedge funds and other 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.