Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) Hits New 12-Month High at $281.72

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $281.72 and last traded at $281.72, with a volume of 87490 shares. The stock had previously closed at $280.08.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $267.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $267.83.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $268.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $253.22. The company has a market cap of $115.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.03. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 89.20% and a net margin of 19.54%. The company had revenue of $4.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.89 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 62.50%.

Insider Activity

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total transaction of $7,164,724.32. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 88,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,959,908.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total value of $228,927.60. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 10,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,816,946. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total value of $7,164,724.32. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 88,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,959,908.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 58,817 shares of company stock valued at $15,999,208 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Automatic Data Processing

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlueSpruce Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 1st quarter valued at about $365,757,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,543,317 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $825,487,000 after acquiring an additional 649,791 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 27.7% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,715,382 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $678,601,000 after acquiring an additional 589,831 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 238.1% during the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 784,003 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $195,797,000 after acquiring an additional 552,096 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 242.4% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 644,135 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $153,749,000 after purchasing an additional 456,027 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.