Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) Hits New 52-Week High at $277.98

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $277.98 and last traded at $276.70, with a volume of 183770 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $275.91.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on ADP. StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $282.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $267.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $265.36.

Automatic Data Processing Price 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $253.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $249.13. The firm has a market cap of $113.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.78.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $4.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.74 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.89 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 10.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 88,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,959,908.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 transaction of $228,927.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,816,946. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total value of $7,164,724.32. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 88,426 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,959,908.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Automatic Data Processing

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brown Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the second quarter valued at about $1,698,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 850,550 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $203,018,000 after buying an additional 56,767 shares in the last quarter. Ted Buchan & Co purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $236,000. Advisory Alpha LLC grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 19.1% in the second quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 1,568 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $374,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IMS Capital Management increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 3.8% during the second quarter. IMS Capital Management now owns 9,359 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,476,000 after acquiring an additional 343 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.