Key Points
- ADP VP Brian Michaud sold 1,000 shares on Feb. 6 at an average price of $234.18 for $234,180, reducing his stake by 6.13% to 15,310 shares (≈$3.59M).
- ADP announced a $6.0 billion share buyback (up to 5.8% of shares) and declared a $1.70 quarterly dividend (annualized $6.80, ~3.0% yield); the company also beat Q results (EPS $2.62 vs. $2.57) and set FY2026 guidance of $10.091–$11.011 EPS.
- Street sentiment is muted: analysts have trimmed targets and the consensus rating is "Hold" with a $290 target, while the stock has recently traded around $226.63 and is down roughly 2% (52‑week range $224.93–$329.93).
Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) VP David Foskett sold 266 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 10,954 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,596,098. This represents a 2.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.
Automatic Data Processing Price Performance
Shares of NASDAQ ADP opened at $226.63 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $91.25 billion, a PE ratio of 21.79 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $224.93 and a twelve month high of $329.93. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $256.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $274.75.
Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $5.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.34 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 68.44% and a net margin of 19.96%.The business's revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.35 EPS. Automatic Data Processing has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.091-11.011 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.
Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Automatic Data Processing's payout ratio is 65.38%.
Automatic Data Processing declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, January 14th that allows the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to repurchase up to 5.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.
Institutional Trading of Automatic Data Processing
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ADP. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 30,110.7% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,668,758 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,439,845,000 after buying an additional 4,653,304 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 6,493.0% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,468,180 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $892,120,000 after acquiring an additional 3,415,576 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the second quarter valued at about $696,841,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 47.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,830,294 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,004,691,000 after purchasing an additional 2,208,927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 32.1% during the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,273,700 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $960,831,000 after purchasing an additional 796,379 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $280.00 to $270.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $230.00 price objective (down previously from $245.00) on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $306.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $311.00 to $274.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $303.00 to $265.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $290.00.
Read Our Latest Report on ADP
About Automatic Data Processing
(
Get Free Report)
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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