Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) Sets New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $314.06 and last traded at $312.20, with a volume of 1311310 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $310.76.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ADP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $293.55.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $126.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.79. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $299.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $291.39. 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 data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. As a group, analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total value of $305,322.05. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,961. The trade was a 14.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Automatic Data Processing

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. Strategic Blueprint LLC grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 1.0% in the third quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 4,454 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,233,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,844 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,275,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,500 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $415,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 33,258.9% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 48,704 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,478,000 after buying an additional 48,558 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trajan Wealth LLC raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 22.3% in the third quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC now owns 11,207 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,101,000 after buying an additional 2,041 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.