Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Has $4.84 Million Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 141.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 16,531 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,686 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $4,839,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at $455,993,000. Winslow Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth $396,714,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 26.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,136,763 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,796,415,000 after buying an additional 1,299,390 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth $342,942,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 41,710.7% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,090,422 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $319,199,000 after buying an additional 1,087,814 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on ADP. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $305.64.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of ADP stock opened at $321.09 on Tuesday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $231.27 and a 12-month high of $323.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $301.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $301.17. The firm has a market cap of $130.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.09. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. The business had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.49 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.88 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 63.05%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 478 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.14, for a total value of $140,120.92. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,158,682.96. This trade represents a 6.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total value of $458,070.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,686,852.74. This represents a 11.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,451 shares of company stock valued at $743,024 in the last ninety days. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Automatic Data Processing 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.