Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Sold by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. significantly reduced its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP) by 53.3%, ending the first quarter with 7,719 shares worth approximately $2.36 million.
• In contrast, several institutional investors, including Golden State Wealth Management LLC and Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC, increased their stakes in Automatic Data Processing during the same period.
• Automatic Data Processing reported a quarterly earnings per share of $2.26, exceeding estimates, with revenue of $5.13 billion reflecting a year-over-year increase of 6.3%.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 53.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,719 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 8,812 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $2,358,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ADP. Sentinus LLC lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Sentinus LLC now owns 1,548 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $453,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 3,686 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,079,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Detalus Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Detalus Advisors LLC now owns 1,566 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $478,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Group LTD lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 50.7% during the 4th quarter. Main Street Group LTD now owns 113 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Howard Financial Services LTD. lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 1,735 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $530,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ADP shares. TD Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $298.00 to $321.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $323.00 to $315.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $305.00 to $318.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $321.00 to $332.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $314.33.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:ADP traded down $0.62 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $301.65. 99,892 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,748,772. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $122.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.25, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.81. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $256.47 and a 52-week high of $329.93. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $309.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $305.37.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.03. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.84% and a return on equity of 72.84%. The company had revenue of $5.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. Automatic Data Processing's revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

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.