Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $287.30 and last traded at $286.62, with a volume of 109964 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $285.42.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ADP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target 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. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $282.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $267.83.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company’s fifty day moving average is $272.03 and its 200 day moving average is $254.56. The firm has a market cap of $117.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.85, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.03. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.54% and a return on equity of 89.20%. The firm had revenue of $4.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.89 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 10.04 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is presently 62.50%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Maria Black sold 19,147 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total value of $5,253,553.86. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 92,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,464,384.66. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Maria Black sold 19,147 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total transaction of $5,253,553.86. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 92,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,464,384.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total transaction of $228,927.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,816,946. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 58,817 shares of company stock valued at $15,999,208 over the last ninety days. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Automatic Data Processing

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. TD Asset Management Inc grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 14.2% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 801,857 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $200,256,000 after buying an additional 99,515 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew 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 worth $152,405,000 after buying an additional 264,466 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 195.1% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 51,607 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,888,000 after purchasing an additional 34,118 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,924,000. Finally, LVW Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 23.8% in the 1st quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 3,854 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $962,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently 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.