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Automatic Data Processing (ADP) Stock Forecast & Price Target

Automatic Data Processing logo
$266.47 -1.49 (-0.56%)
As of 09:52 AM Eastern
This is a fair market value price provided by Massive. Learn more.

Automatic Data Processing - Analysts' Recommendations and Stock Price Forecast (2026)

Consensus Rating

Sell
1
Hold
8
Buy
3

Based on 12 Wall Street analysts who have issued ratings for Automatic Data Processing in the last 12 months, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold." Out of the 12 analysts, 1 has given a sell rating, 8 have given a hold rating, and 3 have given a buy rating for ADP.

Consensus Price Target

$273.50
2.64% Upside
According to the 12 analysts' twelve-month price targets for Automatic Data Processing, the average price target is $273.50. The highest price target for ADP is $310.00, while the lowest price target for ADP is $190.00. The average price target represents a forecasted upside of 2.64% from the current price of $266.47.
MarketBeat calculates consensus analyst ratings for stocks using the most recent rating from each Wall Street analyst that has rated a stock within the last twelve months. Each analyst's rating is normalized to a standardized rating score of 1 (sell), 2 (hold), 3 (buy) or 4 (strong buy). Analyst consensus ratings scores are calculated using the mean average of the number of normalized sell, hold, buy and strong buy ratings from Wall Street analysts. Each stock's consensus analyst rating is derived from its calculated consensus ratings score (0 to .5 = Strong Sell, .5 to 1 = Sell, 1 to 1.5 = Reduce, 1.5 to 2.5 = Hold, 2.5 to 3.0 = Moderate Buy, 3.0 to 3.5 = Buy, >3.5 = Strong Buy). MarketBeat's consensus price targets are a mean average of the most recent available price targets set by each analyst that has set a price target for the stock in the last twelve months. MarketBeat's consensus ratings and consensus price targets may differ from those calculated by other firms due to differences in methodology and available data.
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ADP Analyst Ratings Over Time

TypeCurrent Forecast
9/9/25 to 9/9/26
1 Month Ago
8/10/25 to 8/10/26
3 Months Ago
6/11/25 to 6/11/26
1 Year Ago
9/9/24 to 9/9/25
Strong Buy
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
1 Strong Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
Buy
3 Buy rating(s)
3 Buy rating(s)
3 Buy rating(s)
2 Buy rating(s)
Hold
8 Hold rating(s)
9 Hold rating(s)
9 Hold rating(s)
10 Hold rating(s)
Sell
1 Sell rating(s)
1 Sell rating(s)
1 Sell rating(s)
0 Sell rating(s)
Consensus Price Target$273.50$273.50$244.29$317.00
Forecasted Upside2.64% Upside-0.06% Downside8.20% Upside6.65% Upside
Consensus RatingHoldHoldHoldHold

ADP Analyst Recommendations By Month

The chart below shows how a company's ratings by analysts have changed over time. Each bar represents the previous year of ratings for that month. Within each bar, the sell ratings are shown in red, the hold ratings are shown in yellow, the buy ratings are shown in green, and the strong buy ratings are shown in dark green.
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ADP Price Targets by Month

The chart below shows how a company's share price and consensus price target have changed over time. The dark blue line represents the company's actual price. The lighter blue line represents the stock's consensus price target. The even lighter blue range in the background of the two lines represents the low price target and the high price target for each stock.
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Automatic Data Processing Stock vs. The Competition

TypeAutomatic Data ProcessingIndustrials CompaniesBroader Market
Consensus Rating Score
2.17
2.30
2.53
Consensus RatingHoldHoldModerate Buy
Predicted Upside2.07% Upside93.86% Upside15.33% Upside
News Sentiment Rating
Positive News

See Recent ADP News
Positive News
Positive News
DateBrokerageAnalystActionRatingPrice TargetReport Date
Upside/Downside
Details
8/3/2026
Cantor Fitzgerald logo
Cantor Fitzgerald
5 of 5 stars
Boost TargetOverweight$295.00 ➝ $310.00+16.34%
7/30/2026
Citigroup Inc. logo
Citigroup
4 of 5 stars
Bryan Keane
Not Rated
Boost TargetNeutral$230.00 ➝ $287.00+8.92%
7/30/2026
Morgan Stanley logo
Morgan Stanley
3 of 5 stars
James Faucette
1 of 5 stars
Boost TargetEqual Weight$240.00 ➝ $286.00+9.51%
7/30/2026Boost TargetHold$260.00 ➝ $285.00+9.23%
7/30/2026Boost TargetEqual Weight$248.00 ➝ $283.00+9.80%
7/30/2026Boost TargetBuy$270.00 ➝ $300.00+13.55%
7/29/2026 Boost TargetMarket Perform$248.00 ➝ $305.00+11.63%
7/22/2026Boost TargetNeutral$260.00 ➝ $270.00+11.16%
7/21/2026 UpgradeHold (C-)Hold (C)
7/6/2026Boost TargetHold$216.00 ➝ $223.00-6.33%
5/5/2026Lower TargetBuy$300.00 ➝ $240.00+15.27%
4/30/2026 Lower Target$332.00 ➝ $305.00+43.43%
4/30/2026 Lower Target$230.00 ➝ $190.00-10.65%
4/30/2026 Lower Target$300.00 ➝ $270.00+26.97%
1/29/2026Lower TargetUnderweight$295.00 ➝ $275.00+11.39%
8/21/2025 UpgradeHold
6/5/2025Reiterated RatingSector Perform$315.00-3.31%
5/21/2025Boost TargetHold$298.00 ➝ $321.00-0.56%
2/3/2025Boost TargetOverweight$325.00 ➝ $350.00+15.51%

Analyst ratings data on MarketBeat is provided by Benzinga and other data providers. This page was last refreshed on Wednesday at 09:52 AM ET.


Should I Buy Automatic Data Processing Stock? ADP Pros and Cons Explained

These pros and cons were generated based on recent news and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate insights. They were last updated on Sunday, September 6, 2026. Please send any questions or comments about these Automatic Data Processing pros and cons to contact@marketbeat.com.

Automatic Data Processing
Bull Case

green Wall Street bull icon

Here are some ways that investors could benefit from investing in Automatic Data Processing, Inc.:

  • Automatic Data Processing, Inc. recently reported strong financial performance for the quarter ended July 29, 2026, with earnings per share of $2.64, which exceeded the consensus estimate of $2.59, and revenue of $5.47 billion, surpassing the expected $5.44 billion, demonstrating the company's ability to outperform market expectations and drive shareholder value.
  • The company has established a robust dividend profile, recently announcing a quarterly dividend of $1.70 per share, which annualizes to $6.80 and provides a yield of approximately 2.45%, offering a reliable income stream for investors while maintaining a sustainable payout ratio of 62.16%.
  • Automatic Data Processing, Inc. is trading at a current stock price of $277.62, which is below the consensus price target of $273.50 set by analysts, suggesting potential upside as the stock has recently recovered from its 52-week low of $188.16 and is approaching its 52-week high of $302.68.
  • Institutional investors are showing renewed confidence in the company, with Saudi Central Bank increasing its holdings by 88.8% in the second quarter and Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich acquiring 72,388 additional shares, indicating that large financial entities are positioning themselves for long-term growth in the human capital management sector.
  • The company's cloud-based human capital management solutions continue to drive revenue growth, with year-over-year revenue increasing by 6.8% in the most recent quarter, reflecting strong demand for its payroll services, benefits administration, and talent management platforms in a competitive market.

Automatic Data Processing
Bear Case

red Wall Street bear icon

Investors should be bearish about investing in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. for these reasons:

  • Recent insider selling activity has raised concerns, with CEO Maria Black selling 29,810 shares worth approximately $8.4 million and VP Joseph Desilva selling 631 shares, which may signal a lack of confidence in the stock's near-term performance or a desire to diversify personal holdings.
  • Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with a consensus rating of "Hold" from twelve brokerages and a consensus price target of $273.50, which is slightly below the current stock price of $277.62, suggesting that the stock may be fairly valued or slightly overvalued relative to current expectations.
  • The company faces a challenging macroeconomic environment, as indicated by the August employment report showing private-sector payrolls increased by only 38,000, missing the 47,000 forecast, which could impact payroll processing volumes and revenue growth in the near term.
  • Short interest in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has been increasing, with 11,138,012 shares shorted as of August 14, 2026, representing 2.81% of the float, which could lead to downward pressure on the stock price if short sellers continue to accumulate positions.
  • The company's valuation metrics, including a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.38 and a PEG ratio of 2.52, suggest that the stock may be expensive relative to its growth prospects, particularly if revenue growth slows or if the company faces increased competition in the human resource and employment services industry.

ADP Forecast - Frequently Asked Questions

According to the research reports of 12 Wall Street equities research analysts, the average twelve-month stock price forecast for Automatic Data Processing is $273.50, with a high forecast of $310.00 and a low forecast of $190.00.

12 Wall Street analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for Automatic Data Processing in the last twelve months. There is currently 1 sell rating, 8 hold ratings and 3 buy ratings for the stock. The consensus among Wall Street analysts is that investors should "hold" ADP shares. A hold rating indicates that analysts believe investors should maintain any existing positions they have in ADP, but not buy additional shares or sell existing shares.

According to analysts, Automatic Data Processing's stock has a predicted upside of 2.64% based on their 12-month stock forecasts.

Over the previous 90 days, Automatic Data Processing's stock had 1 upgrade by analysts.

Automatic Data Processing has been rated by research analysts at BMO Capital Markets, Cantor Fitzgerald, Citigroup, Guggenheim, Morgan Stanley, Stifel Nicolaus, TD Cowen, UBS Group, Weiss Ratings, and Wells Fargo & Company in the past 90 days.

Analysts like Automatic Data Processing less than other "industrials" companies. The consensus rating score for Automatic Data Processing is 2.17 while the average consensus rating score for "industrials" companies is 2.30. Learn more on how ADP compares to other companies.


MarketBeat monitors more than a dozen sources for Automatic Data Processing analyst ratings, with the most recent rating issued on 8/3/2026.
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