Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $273.50 According to Analysts

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the twelve brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities 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. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $273.50.

ADP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $230.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. TD Cowen upped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $216.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $240.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ ADP opened at $262.36 on Wednesday. Automatic Data Processing has a 1-year low of $188.16 and a 1-year high of $293.51. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $271.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $238.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $103.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $2.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $5.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.44 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 71.34% and a net margin of 20.11%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.26 earnings per share. Automatic Data Processing has set its FY 2027 guidance at 12.120-12.340 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing will post 12.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 11th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Maria Black sold 29,810 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $8,373,927.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 80,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,648,087.84. This trade represents a 26.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 120 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.70, for a total transaction of $33,564.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 18,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,158,227.40. This trade represents a 0.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 33,773 shares of company stock valued at $9,450,629. 0.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the second quarter worth about $8,097,229,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,231,175,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $994,937,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $725,513,000. Finally, Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 950.1% during the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 3,563,180 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $916,557,000 after acquiring an additional 3,223,855 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

About Automatic Data Processing

Automatic Data Processing, Inc (NASDAQ: ADP) is a provider of human capital management and business outsourcing solutions. The company helps organizations manage payroll, tax withholding and compliance, employee benefits, time and attendance, workforce management, talent acquisition, and human resources administration.

ADP offers cloud-based platforms and related services designed for businesses of different sizes, from small companies to large multinational employers. Its offerings include payroll and HR software, workforce analytics, talent management tools, retirement and insurance-related administration, and professional employer organization services through ADP TotalSource.