Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Buys New Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. $ADP

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 9,521 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,794,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ADP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $295.00 to $275.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Automatic Data Processing in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $306.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $280.00 to $270.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $230.00 price target (down from $245.00) on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $303.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $290.00.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 2.5%

NASDAQ ADP opened at $217.37 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.90 and a beta of 0.86. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $203.26 and a 52 week high of $329.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $237.35 and a 200-day moving average of $261.62.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $5.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.34 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 68.44% and a net margin of 19.96%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.35 earnings per share. Automatic Data Processing has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.091-11.011 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 65.38%.

Automatic Data Processing announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 14th that authorizes the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to purchase up to 5.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 543 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.29, for a total value of $142,423.47. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 9,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,622,375.42. This trade represents a 5.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the vice president owned 10,954 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,596,098. The trade was a 2.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,515 shares of company stock valued at $887,074. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Profile

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.