Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) Hits New 12-Month High - What's Next?

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $326.00 and last traded at $325.71, with a volume of 1636596 shares. The stock had previously closed at $321.09.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ADP has been the topic of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. TD Securities increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $298.00 to $321.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $305.64.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $132.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $303.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $301.74.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.09. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. The company had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.88 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total transaction of $458,070.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,686,852.74. This trade represents a 11.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 478 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.14, for a total transaction of $140,120.92. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,158,682.96. The trade was a 6.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,451 shares of company stock valued at $743,024 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ADP. AMG National Trust Bank boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 11,334 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,318,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Sentinus LLC grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Sentinus LLC now owns 1,548 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $453,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 779 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $238,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,371 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,030,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 883 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company's stock.

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.