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

Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $320.49 and last traded at $318.75, with a volume of 213403 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $315.18.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ADP shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.18.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 1.0 %

The company has a market cap of $126.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.37, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.79. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $301.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $293.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. On average, analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is presently 64.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total transaction of $704,869.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $929,007.90. The trade was a 43.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total value of $305,322.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,961. The trade was a 14.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Automatic Data Processing

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Main Street Group LTD increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 50.7% in the 4th quarter. Main Street Group LTD now owns 113 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 121.8% during the 4th quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 122 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.