Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $323.09 and last traded at $322.54, with a volume of 567001 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $319.37.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Securities lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $296.00 to $298.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, 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, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $303.55.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $298.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $300.13. The company has a market cap of $131.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.68, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.49 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.88 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.05%.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 473 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total value of $144,832.60. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 7,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,218,112.80. This represents a 6.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total value of $458,070.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,686,852.74. This represents a 11.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,451 shares of company stock valued at $743,024 in the last quarter. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Activest Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2,600.0% during the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 81 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Clarity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Main Street Group LTD lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 50.7% during the 4th quarter. Main Street Group LTD now owns 113 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 121.8% during the 4th quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 122 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% 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.