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

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $309.63 and last traded at $306.92, with a volume of 1120516 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $307.97.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ADP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.3 %

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $290.64 and its 200-day moving average is $267.03. 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 company has a market cap of $125.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.87, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.08 EPS. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $1.54 dividend. This is a positive change from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 59.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total value of $2,479,748.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 36,741 shares in the company, valued at $9,899,862.45. This represents a 20.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Don Mcguire sold 3,179 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total value of $872,254.02. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 41,696 shares in the company, valued at $11,440,548.48. This trade represents a 7.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 70,504 shares of company stock valued at $20,298,056. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Automatic Data Processing

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Accredited Investors Inc. grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4,431.5% during the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,315,295 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $640,712,000 after purchasing an additional 2,264,202 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 28,478.6% in the 3rd 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 period. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $160,920,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 479,145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 242.4% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 644,135 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $153,749,000 after buying an additional 456,027 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.