Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $292.24 and last traded at $292.24, with a volume of 49004 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $291.00.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. 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 lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $267.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $267.83.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $275.45 and a 200 day moving average of $256.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.44, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.79.

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

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 62.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total transaction of $2,479,748.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 36,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,899,862.45. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction 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 owns 10,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,816,946. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total transaction of $2,479,748.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 36,741 shares in the company, valued at $9,899,862.45. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 58,817 shares of company stock valued at $15,999,208 in the last quarter. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Automatic Data Processing

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 14.2% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 801,857 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $200,256,000 after buying an additional 99,515 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 70.7% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 638,507 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $152,405,000 after acquiring an additional 264,466 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 195.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 34,118 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 1st quarter worth $2,924,000. Finally, LVW Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 23.8% in the first quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 3,854 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $962,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

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.