ADP stock: buy or sell?
Updated on:
May 27th, 2020
3
Automatic Data Processing, Inc. provides business process outsourcing services worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Employer Services and Professional Employer Organization (PEO) Services.
Should I buy ADP stock?
Even if you are a experienced or a novel trader, best trading results come from using an investing strategy that never leaves to random or subjective opinions when is the best moment to buy or sell stocks. Trading strategies are meant for helping you in the decision process of what stocks to choose and when is the best moment to buy them. At Stocks2.com, we like to use very simple but trusted and powerful trend following trading strategies. Simple things usually work the best.None of our preferred buy setups matches with Automatic Data Processing stock situation right now, therefore this is not a suitable entry point.
| Buy setup | Elegible |
|---|---|
| New all-time high | No |
| New 52 week high | No |
| Price crossing up 200d MA | No |
| 100d MA crossing up 200d MA | No |
Is Automatic Data Processing stock a buy?
Banks and financial institutions post stock ratings everyday.
Unfortunately, we couldn't detect any rating for ADP stock for the last 30 days.ADP stock analysis
Daily outlook
Automatic Data Processing shares rocketed 4.14% to $144.67 today.
Automatic Data Processing rocketed an exceptional 4.14% and closed at $144.67. Since price and SMA200d lines crossed down on February, ADP fell $-20.64 per share (-12.49%). ADP broke out again over $137.62 after a 4.16% correction started on May/19. On February, ADP hit new all time highs, pushing higher previous ATH of $180.17 recorded on February. New ATHs are usual entry points for many trading setups as there aren't higher resistences.
Weekly outlook
Automatic Data Processing shares climbed 7.27% this week, ending at $144.67. By mid May ADP plummed a bloodcurdling -8.27% in just one week.
If you observe the weekly chart, price is in a simple uptrend, tested $130.64 level and now climbing back aiming its last top at $149.78. Not so far away is the last all-time high Automatic Data Processing marked by mid February, but since then it dropped a 20.16%. Since price and 40-weeks moving average lines crossed down late February, ADP fell $-32.81 per share (-18.49%). Trading stocks that are below the 40-weeks (that is, 200-days) moving average line is not recommended by many experts, as it indicates that the stock has not enough institutional support.
ADP stock price history
ADP stock went public on March 17th, 1980 with a price of $0.001. Since then, ADP stock grew a inf%, with an average of inf% per year. If you had invested right after ADP's IPO a $1,000 in ADP stock in 1980, it would worth $inf today.
1: Adjusted price after possible price splits or reverse-splits.
ADP stock historical price chart
ADP stock reached all-time highs on February with a price of $181.20.
ADP stock price target
Nobody can reliably foresee how stock prices may evolve in the future. However, banks and other financial institutions analysts, with the help of lots of data and algorithms do their best to predict the stock prices movement. We do not recommend to follow these stock price predictions without a critical thinking from your side, as their accuracy is usually low. For the last month we have not found any price prediction for Automatic Data Processing stock by any trusted analyst.Financials and fundamental analysis
Earnings date and Earnings per Share
, when Automatic Data Processing posted its last earnings report, it . As soon as we get its actual EPS from the earnings report, we will update this review.| Quarter | Reporting date | Estimated EPS | Actual EPS | Surprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-Q2 | - | n/a | 0.59 | n/a |
| 2017-Q3 | 2017-11-02 | 0.85 | 0.91 | 7.1% |
| 2017-Q4 | 2018-01-31 | 0.9 | 0.99 | 10.0% |
| 2018-Q1 | 2018-05-02 | 1.44 | 1.52 | 5.6% |
| 2018-Q2 | 2018-08-01 | 0.9 | 0.92 | 2.2% |
| 2018-Q3 | 2018-10-31 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 9.1% |
| 2018-Q4 | 2019-01-30 | 1.18 | 1.34 | 13.6% |
| 2019-Q1 | 2019-04-30 | 1.69 | n/a | n/a |
| 2019-Q2 | - | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 2019-Q3 | - | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Annual financial results
In 2018, Automatic Data Processing annual turnover escalated an excellent 7.64% to $13,325.80 million dollars from $12,379.80 marked in 2017. Instead, its earnings margin (compared to revenues) depreciated to 12.16%, that is $1,620.80 million. To have an updated picture of the financial situation of Automatic Data Processing, we have calculated the trailing twelve month (TTM) sales and income figures. TTM values are the sum of the last 4 quarters and aproximate to an annual fiscal report ending in 2019-Q1 that can be compared to 2018 fiscal year results. Annual Automatic Data Processing TTM sales up to March 2019 were $13,995.10 and earnings were $1,926.00 M USD. If we compare this TTM figures with the last reported annuality, we can esteem Automatic Data Processing business evolution since June 2018: Annual turnover up to March, compared to lastest yearly report, soared a good 5.02%. Regarding profit margin, Automatic Data Processing appreciated 1.60% to 12.16%| Year | Sales | YoY | Income/(margin) | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | $11,310 M | - | $1,360 M12.0% | - |
| 2014 | $12,210 M | 7.96% | $1,500 M12.3% | 10.29% |
| 2015 | $10,939 M | -10.41% | $1,453 M13.3% | -3.17% |
| 2016 | $11,668 M | 6.67% | $1,493 M12.8% | 2.75% |
| 2017 | $12,380 M | 6.10% | $1,733 M14.0% | 16.14% |
| 2018 | $13,326 M | 7.64% | $1,621 M12.2% | -6.50% |
| TTM | $13,995 M | 5.02% | $1,926 M13.8% | 18.83% |
Quarterly financial results
Automatic Data Processing posted $3,847.40 million in sales for 2019-Q1, a 9.74% up compared to previous quarter. Reported quarter earnings marked $753.70 million with a profit margin of 19.59%. Profit margin stepped up a 3.67% compared to previous quarter when profit margin was 15.92%. When comparing sales to same quarter last year, Automatic Data Processing sales marked a fine growth and grew a 4.18%. Looking back to recent quarterly results, Automatic Data Processing posted 3 negative quarters in a row.| Quarter | Sales1 | QoQ2 | Income1/(margin) | QoQ2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-Q2 | $3,060 M | - | $266 M8.7% | - |
| 2017-Q3 | $3,079 M | 0.61% | $402 M13.0% | 51.05% |
| 2017-Q4 | $3,235 M | 5.09% | $468 M14.4% | 16.44% |
| 2018-Q1 | $3,693 M | 14.14% | $643 M17.4% | 37.56% |
| 2018-Q2 | $3,319 M | -10.14% | $109 M3.3% | -83.10% |
| 2018-Q3 | $3,323 M | 0.14% | $505 M15.2% | 364.95% |
| 2018-Q4 | $3,506 M | 5.50% | $558 M15.9% | 10.45% |
| 2019-Q1 | $3,847 M | 9.74% | $754 M19.6% | 35.02% |
Automatic Data Processing ownership
When you are planning to buy a stock, it's worth to check its ownership structure.Management staff in all public traded companies that hold equity is required to report every transaction to the SEC. For Automatic Data Processing, 0.14% of all outstanding shares are owned by its staff.
Bearish positions for ADP stock account 0.00%, no big difference from last month.
The following table compares ownership indicators for other stocks related to Automatic Data Processing:
| ADP | |
|---|---|
| Market cap | $62.2 B |
| Total shares | 429.8 M |
| Float shares | 429.0 M |
| - Institutional holdings (%) | 82.3% |
| - Insider holdings (%) | 0.1% |
| Shares in short selling | 0.0% |
ADP summary
| Wednesday, May 27th, 2020 | |
|---|---|
| Open | $141.30 |
| Close | $144.67 |
| Day range | $139.54 - $145.13 |
| Previous close | $138.92 |
| Session gain | 4.14% |
| Average true range | $4.33 |
| 50d mov avg | $135.99 |
| 100d mov avg | $151.98 |
| 200d mov avg | $157.69 |
| Daily pattern | lb01c |
| Weekly pattern | lb01a |
Automatic Data Processing performance
Stocks performance is always measured in comparision to the market or competitors and related stocks in the same industry. We chose as the bechmarking frame for Automatic Data Processing stock.| Stock | 3m | 6m | 12m |
|---|---|---|---|
| ADPAutomatic Data Pr... | -5.93% | -14.30% | -7.70% |
Automatic Data Processing competitors
Unfortunately, we could not find any public company that could be defined as Automatic Data Processing competitor. This doesn't mean Automatic Data Processing does not have any competitor in the market, it's just we could not detected it.Latest ADP stock news
- Seeking AlphaAutomatic Data Processing: Great Total Return - Up From The Last Report And Fully ValuedMay 29, 2019
- Seeking AlphaAutomatic Data Processing Gets A Catalyst From Revised OutlookFebruary 4, 2019
- Seeking AlphaAutomatic Data Processing: Shares Ready To RallyJanuary 31, 2019