TD Cowen Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) Stock

Key Points

• TD Cowen raised its price target on Automatic Data Processing (ADP) to $216 (from $208) but kept a "hold" rating, implying only about 1.85% upside from the current share price.
• ADP reported a Q3 beat—EPS $3.37 vs. $3.30 consensus and revenue $5.94B (up ~7% y/y)—raised FY‑2026 EPS guidance to 11.010–11.110 (slightly above Street forecasts), highlighted AI-driven product gains, and authorized a $6 billion share repurchase.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by equities researchers at TD Cowen from $208.00 to $216.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "hold" rating on the business services provider's stock. TD Cowen's price objective indicates a potential upside of 1.85% from the stock's current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on ADP. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $311.00 to $274.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $306.00 to $244.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $270.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $280.00 to $270.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $295.00 to $275.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $259.64.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of ADP stock traded down $2.98 during trading on Thursday, reaching $212.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,996,362 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,428,630. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $85.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.44 and a beta of 0.85. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $206.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $238.83. Automatic Data Processing has a 1-year low of $188.16 and a 1-year high of $329.93.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $3.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.30 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.85 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.96% and a return on equity of 68.44%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.06 earnings per share. Automatic Data Processing has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.010-11.110 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing will post 10.96 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 14th that permits the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase up to 5.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 543 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.45, for a total value of $113,188.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 8,912 shares in the company, valued at $1,857,706.40. This trade represents a 5.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP David Foskett sold 266 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.00, for a total transaction of $63,042.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 10,954 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,596,098. This represents a 2.37% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 1,809 shares of company stock worth $410,410 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Automatic Data Processing

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mitchell Capital Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 325.0% during the third quarter. Mitchell Capital Management Co. now owns 6,800 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,996,000 after buying an additional 5,200 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 136.0% during the third quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 47,974 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $14,080,000 after buying an additional 27,644 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.6% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 183,561 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $53,875,000 after buying an additional 4,720 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 18.4% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 138,215 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $40,566,000 after buying an additional 21,444 shares during the period. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter valued at approximately $5,292,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Automatic Data Processing

Here are the key news stories impacting Automatic Data Processing this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 results beat expectations — ADP reported EPS of $3.37 (vs. ~$3.30 consensus) and revenue of $5.94B, with revenue up ~7% year‑over‑year. The beat supports continued core business momentum. ADP Reports Third Quarter Fiscal 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: ADP nudged FY26 guidance slightly above Street forecasts (EPS guide 11.010–11.110 vs. consensus ~10.96), a signal management sees sustained earnings power. ADP Reports Third Quarter Fiscal 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted AI-driven product gains on the earnings call, which it cited as a growth catalyst and part of the upward guidance discussion. This frames longer‑term incremental revenue/efficiency upside. ADP Earnings Call: AI Gains, Guidance Raised
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings materials and call transcript/slide deck are available for deeper diligence — useful for parsing customer commentary, margin drivers, and AI pipeline details. Earnings Slide Deck Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Two firms trimmed price targets this week — Cantor Fitzgerald cut its PT to $244 (keeps Overweight) and Morgan Stanley trimmed its PT to $274 (keeps Equal‑Weight). Those downgrades reduce upside expectations and likely weigh on sentiment despite the beat. Cantor Fitzgerald Adjusts Price Target on Automatic Data Processing to $244 from $306; Maintains Overweight Morgan Stanley Adjusts Price Target on Automatic Data Processing to $274 from $311; Maintains Equal‑Weight

Automatic Data Processing Company Profile

Automatic Data Processing, Inc (ADP) is a global provider of cloud-based human capital management (HCM) and payroll solutions. Founded in 1949 and headquartered in Roseland, New Jersey, ADP began as a payroll processing company and has evolved into a diversified provider of workforce management, HR, benefits administration, tax and compliance services, and analytics for employers of all sizes.

ADP's product portfolio includes payroll processing and tax filing, time and attendance systems, benefits administration, talent management, and HR outsourcing.

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