Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) Reaches New 52-Week High on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $311.67 and last traded at $309.58, with a volume of 315990 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $298.31.

The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is 65.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ADP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $289.91.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total value of $305,322.05. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,756,961. This trade represents a 14.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total value of $210,236.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,856 shares in the company, valued at $20,077,721.04. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 42,129 shares of company stock worth $12,604,872 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Automatic Data Processing

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Accredited Investors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4,431.5% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,315,295 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $640,712,000 after acquiring an additional 2,264,202 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 28,478.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,194,587 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,305,780,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190,407 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at approximately $160,920,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 332.3% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 623,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $172,497,000 after purchasing an additional 479,145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,334,580 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,098,541,000 after buying an additional 424,328 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 3.6 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market cap of $125.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.79. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $297.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $283.65.

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.