Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) Cut to “Moderate Sell” at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) from a hold rating to a moderate sell rating in a research report report published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on ADP. UBS Group lowered their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $315.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $340.00 to $295.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $303.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $306.42.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of ADP stock opened at $265.47 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Automatic Data Processing has a 12-month low of $247.18 and a 12-month high of $329.93. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $264.30 and a 200-day moving average of $289.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.21 and a beta of 0.86.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 70.63% and a net margin of 19.79%.The firm had revenue of $5.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.33 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Automatic Data Processing has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.811-11.011 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This is a positive change from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.54. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is 67.13%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ADP. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 2,600.0% during the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 81 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Automatic Data Processing

Automatic Data Processing, Inc provides cloud-based human capital management solutions worldwide. It operates in two segments, Employer Services and Professional Employer Organization (PEO). The Employer Services segment offers strategic, cloud-based platforms, and human resources (HR) outsourcing solutions.