Dun & Bradstreet (NYSE:DNB) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

Analysts at StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Dun & Bradstreet (NYSE:DNB - Get Free Report) in a research note issued on Wednesday. The brokerage set a "hold" rating on the business services provider's stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Dun & Bradstreet in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $12.00 price target on shares of Dun & Bradstreet in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and set a $9.15 price objective (down previously from $11.00) on shares of Dun & Bradstreet in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Dun & Bradstreet from $12.80 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $11.86.

Dun & Bradstreet Price Performance

DNB opened at $9.00 on Wednesday. Dun & Bradstreet has a 1 year low of $7.78 and a 1 year high of $12.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $4.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -149.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.14. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $8.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.53.

Dun & Bradstreet (NYSE:DNB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $579.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $578.02 million. Dun & Bradstreet had a negative net margin of 1.20% and a positive return on equity of 11.29%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.20 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Dun & Bradstreet will post 0.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman William P. Foley II sold 2,500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.96, for a total transaction of $22,400,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 5,609,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,262,410.24. This represents a 30.83% 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, Director Chinh Chu sold 10,885,403 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.95, for a total value of $97,424,356.85. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $213,099.50. This represents a 99.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,885,403 shares of company stock worth $142,299,357. 10.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Dun & Bradstreet

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Dun & Bradstreet by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 57,773,925 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $719,863,000 after acquiring an additional 1,275,959 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Dun & Bradstreet by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 19,628,905 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $175,482,000 after purchasing an additional 2,006,587 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Dun & Bradstreet by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,575,015 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $156,685,000 after purchasing an additional 1,109,940 shares during the last quarter. Azora Capital LP lifted its stake in Dun & Bradstreet by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 9,213,826 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $114,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crescent Grove Advisors LLC boosted its position in Dun & Bradstreet by 8.1% during the first quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC now owns 6,678,062 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $59,702,000 after buying an additional 498,558 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.68% of the company's stock.

Dun & Bradstreet Company Profile

Dun & Bradstreet Holdings, Inc engages in providing business decisioning data and analytics solutions. The firm is involved in providing information with its solutions to support its clients with critical business operations. It offers end-to-end solutions to clients in the small business, finance, sales & marketing, third party risk & compliance, and public sectors.

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