Jefferies Financial Group Downgrades Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) to Moderate Sell

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) was downgraded by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also commented on ADP. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $315.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $288.00 to $272.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $340.00 to $295.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. They set 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 research note on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $306.42.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $262.17 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $106.03 billion, a PE ratio of 25.88 and a beta of 0.86. 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 52 week low of $247.18 and a 52 week high of $329.93. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $264.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $289.69.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.79% and a return on equity of 70.63%. 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 firm earned $2.33 EPS. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue 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. Equities analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Automatic Data Processing

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Activest Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2,600.0% in the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 81 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth $25,000. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Company Profile

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.