Our top pick for
Beginners
Finder is committed to editorial independence. While we receive compensation when you click links to partners, they do not influence our opinions or reviews. Learn how we make money.
How to buy Automatic Data Processing stock | $137.54
Own Automatic Data Processing stock in just a few minutes.
Automatic Data Processing, Inc is a staffing & employment services business based in the US. Automatic Data Processing shares (ADP) are listed on the NASDAQ and all prices are listed in US Dollars. Automatic Data Processing employs 58,000 staff and has a trailing 12-month revenue of around USD$14.6 billion.
How to buy shares in Automatic Data Processing
- Compare share trading platforms. If you're a beginner, look for a platform with low commissions, expert ratings and investment tools to track your portfolio. Narrow down top brands with our comparison table.
- Open and fund your brokerage account. Complete an application with your personal and financial details, like your ID and bank information. Fund your account with a bank transfer, credit card or debit card.
- Search for Automatic Data Processing Find the stock by name or ticker symbol: ADP. Research its history to confirm it's a solid investment against your financial goals.
- Purchase now or later. Buy today with a market order or use a limit order to delay your purchase until Automatic Data Processing reaches your desired price. To spread out your purchase, look into dollar-cost averaging, which smooths out buying at consistent intervals and amounts.
- Decide on how many to buy. At last close price of USD$137.54, weigh your budget against a diversified portfolio that can minimize risk through the market's ups and downs. You may be able to buy a fractional share of Automatic Data Processing, depending on your broker.
- Check in on your investment. Congratulations, you own a part of Automatic Data Processing. Optimize your portfolio by tracking how your stock — and even the business — performs with an eye on the long term. You may be eligible for dividends and shareholder voting rights on directors and management that can affect your stock.
What's in this guide?
- ADP shares summary
- Compare share dealing platforms
- Is ADP stock a buy or sell?
- Stock performance over time
- Can I short ADP shares?
- Is ADP suitable for ethical investing?
- Are ADP shares over-valued?
- Automatic Data Processing's financials
- How volatile are ADP shares?
- Does Automatic Data Processing pay a dividend?
- Have ADP shares ever split?
- Other common questions
Automatic Data Processing share price
Use our graph to track the performance of ADP stocks over time.Automatic Data Processing shares at a glance
Information last updated 2020-09-25.
| Latest market close | USD$137.54 |
|---|---|
| 52-week range | USD$103.1101 - USD$182.32 |
| 50-day moving average | USD$137.4837 |
| 200-day moving average | USD$140.4645 |
| Wall St. target price | USD$149.29 |
| PE ratio | 22.5825 |
| Dividend yield | USD$3.64 (2.78%) |
| Earnings per share (TTM) | USD$5.7 |
Compare trading platforms
Compare special offers, low fees and a wide range of types of investments among top trading platforms.The value of any investment can go up or down depending on news, trends and market conditions. We are not investment advisers, so do your own due diligence to understand the risks before you invest.
Is it a good time to buy Automatic Data Processing stock?
The technical analysis gauge below displays real-time ratings for the timeframes you select. This is not a recommendation, however. It represents a technical analysis based on the most popular technical indicators: Moving Averages, Oscillators and Pivots. Finder might not concur and takes no responsibility.
This chart is not advice or a guarantee of success. Rather, it gauges the real-time recommendations of three popular technical indicators: moving averages, oscillators and pivots. Finder is not responsible for how your stock performs.
Automatic Data Processing price performance over time
Historical closes compared with the close of $137.54 from 2020-09-29
| 1 week (2020-09-23) | 6.85% |
|---|---|
| 1 month (2020-08-28) | -2.69% |
| 3 months (2020-06-30) | -7.62% |
| 6 months (2020-03-30) | -0.20% |
| 1 year (2019-09-30) | -14.79% |
|---|---|
| 2 years (2018-09-28) | -8.71% |
| 3 years (2017-09-29) | 25.81% |
| 5 years (2015-09-30) | 71.15% |
Is Automatic Data Processing under- or over-valued?
Valuing Automatic Data Processing stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of Automatic Data Processing's overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge the value of a stock.
Automatic Data Processing's P/E ratio
Automatic Data Processing's current share price divided by its per-share earnings (EPS) over a 12-month period gives a "trailing price/earnings ratio" of roughly 23x. In other words, Automatic Data Processing shares trade at around 23x recent earnings.
That's relatively low compared to, say, the trailing 12-month P/E ratio for the NASDAQ 100 at the end of 2019 (27.29). The low P/E ratio could mean that investors are pessimistic about the outlook for the shares or simply that they're under-valued.
Automatic Data Processing's PEG ratio
Automatic Data Processing's "price/earnings-to-growth ratio" can be calculated by dividing its P/E ratio by its growth – to give 2.9217. A low ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer better value, while a higher ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer worse value.
The PEG ratio provides a broader view than just the P/E ratio, as it gives more insight into Automatic Data Processing's future profitability. By accounting for growth, it could also help you if you're comparing the share prices of multiple high-growth companies.
Automatic Data Processing's EBITDA
Automatic Data Processing's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) is USD$3.8 billion.
The EBITDA is a measure of a Automatic Data Processing's overall financial performance and is widely used to measure a its profitability.
Automatic Data Processing financials
| Revenue TTM | USD$14.6 billion |
|---|---|
| Operating margin TTM | 22.54% |
| Gross profit TTM | USD$6.5 billion |
| Return on assets TTM | 5.07% |
| Return on equity TTM | 44.23% |
| Profit margin | 16.91% |
| Book value | $13.38 |
| Market capitalisation | USD$56.2 billion |
TTM: trailing 12 months
Shorting Automatic Data Processing shares
There are currently 5.2 million Automatic Data Processing shares held short by investors – that's known as Automatic Data Processing's "short interest". This figure is 24.1% up from 4.2 million last month.
There are a few different ways that this level of interest in shorting Automatic Data Processing shares can be evaluated.
Automatic Data Processing's "short interest ratio" (SIR)
Automatic Data Processing's "short interest ratio" (SIR) is the quantity of Automatic Data Processing shares currently shorted divided by the average quantity of Automatic Data Processing shares traded daily (recently around 2.2 million). Automatic Data Processing's SIR currently stands at 2.38. In other words for every 100,000 Automatic Data Processing shares traded daily on the market, roughly 2380 shares are currently held short.
However Automatic Data Processing's short interest can also be evaluated against the total number of Automatic Data Processing shares, or, against the total number of tradable Automatic Data Processing shares (the shares that aren't held by "insiders" or major long-term shareholders – also known as the "float"). In this case Automatic Data Processing's short interest could be expressed as 0.01% of the outstanding shares (for every 100,000 Automatic Data Processing shares in existence, roughly 10 shares are currently held short) or 0.012% of the tradable shares (for every 100,000 tradable Automatic Data Processing shares, roughly 12 shares are currently held short).
Such a low SIR usually points to an optimistic outlook for the share price, with fewer people currently willing to bet against Automatic Data Processing.
Find out more about how you can short Automatic Data Processing stock.
Automatic Data Processing's environmental, social and governance track record
Environmental, social and governance (known as ESG) criteria are a set of three factors used to measure the sustainability and social impact of companies like Automatic Data Processing.
When it comes to ESG scores, lower is better, and lower scores are generally associated with lower risk for would-be investors.
Automatic Data Processing's total ESG risk score
Total ESG risk: 18.4
Socially conscious investors use ESG scores to screen how an investment aligns with their worldview, and Automatic Data Processing's overall score of 18.4 (as at 08/01/2020) is excellent – landing it in it in the 11st percentile of companies rated in the same sector.
ESG scores are increasingly used to estimate the level of risk a company like Automatic Data Processing is exposed to within the areas of "environmental" (carbon footprint, resource use etc.), "social" (health and safety, human rights etc.), and "governance" (anti-corruption, tax transparency etc.).
Automatic Data Processing's environmental score
Environmental score: 4.57/100
Automatic Data Processing's environmental score of 4.57 puts it squarely in the 8th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that Automatic Data Processing is a leader in its sector terms of its environmental impact, and exposed to a lower level of risk.
Automatic Data Processing's social score
Social score: 11.17/100
Automatic Data Processing's social score of 11.17 puts it squarely in the 8th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that Automatic Data Processing is a leader in its sector when it comes to taking good care of its workforce and the communities it impacts.
Automatic Data Processing's governance score
Governance score: 10.66/100
Automatic Data Processing's governance score puts it squarely in the 8th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. That could suggest that Automatic Data Processing is a leader in its sector when it comes to responsible management and strategy, and exposed to a lower level of risk.
Automatic Data Processing's controversy score
Controversy score: 1/5
ESG scores also evaluate any incidences of controversy that a company has been involved in. Automatic Data Processing scored a 1 out of 5 for controversy – the highest score possible, reflecting that Automatic Data Processing has managed to keep its nose clean.
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) summary
Automatic Data Processing, Inc was last rated for ESG on: 2020-08-01.
| Total ESG score | 18.4 |
|---|---|
| Total ESG percentile | 10.96 |
| Environmental score | 4.57 |
| Environmental score percentile | 8 |
| Social score | 11.17 |
| Social score percentile | 8 |
| Governance score | 10.66 |
| Governance score percentile | 8 |
| Level of controversy | 1 |
Automatic Data Processing share dividends
Dividend payout ratio: 61.75% of net profits
Recently Automatic Data Processing has paid out, on average, around 61.75% of net profits as dividends. That has enabled analysts to estimate a "forward annual dividend yield" of 2.78% of the current stock value. This means that over a year, based on recent payouts (which are sadly no guarantee of future payouts), Automatic Data Processing shareholders could enjoy a 2.78% return on their shares, in the form of dividend payments. In Automatic Data Processing's case, that would currently equate to about $3.64 per share.
Automatic Data Processing's payout ratio would broadly be considered high, and as such this stock could appeal to those looking to generate an income. Bear in mind however that companies should normally also look to re-invest a decent amount of net profits to ensure future growth.
Automatic Data Processing's most recent dividend payout was on 1 October 2020. The latest dividend was paid out to all shareholders who bought their shares by 10 September 2020 (the "ex-dividend date").
Have Automatic Data Processing's shares ever split?
Automatic Data Processing's shares were split on a 1139:1000 basis on 1 October 2014. So if you had owned 1000 shares the day before before the split, the next day you'd have owned 1139 shares. This wouldn't directly have changed the overall worth of your Automatic Data Processing shares – just the quantity. However, indirectly, the new 12.2% lower share price could have impacted the market appetite for Automatic Data Processing shares which in turn could have impacted Automatic Data Processing's share price.
Automatic Data Processing share price volatility
Over the last 12 months, Automatic Data Processing's shares have ranged in value from as little as $103.1101 up to $182.32. A popular way to gauge a stock's volatility is its "beta".
Beta is a measure of a share's volatility in relation to the market. The market (NASDAQ average) beta is 1, while Automatic Data Processing's is 0.762. This would suggest that Automatic Data Processing's shares are less volatile than average (for this exchange).
Automatic Data Processing overview
Automatic Data Processing, Inc. provides cloud-based human capital management solutions worldwide. It operates through two segments, Employer Services and Professional Employer Organization (PEO). The Employer Services segment offers strategic, cloud-based platforms, and human resources (HR) outsourcing solutions. Its offerings include payroll, benefits administration, talent management, HR management, workforce management, insurance, retirement, and compliance services. The PEO Services segment provides HR outsourcing solutions to small and mid-sized businesses through a co-employment model. This segment offers benefits package, protection and compliance, talent engagement, comprehensive outsourcing, and recruitment process outsourcing services. The company was founded in 1949 and is headquartered in Roseland, New Jersey.
Frequently asked questions
Ask an Expert