Dun & Bradstreet (NYSE:DNB) Given "Hold" Rating at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reissued their hold rating on shares of Dun & Bradstreet (NYSE:DNB - Free Report) in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on DNB. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Dun & Bradstreet from $12.80 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and issued a $9.15 target price (down previously from $11.00) on shares of Dun & Bradstreet in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $12.00 price target on shares of Dun & Bradstreet in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Dun & Bradstreet in a report on Sunday, April 27th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $11.86.

Dun & Bradstreet Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DNB traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $8.97. The company had a trading volume of 2,133,617 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,803,995. The company's 50-day moving average price is $8.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.68. Dun & Bradstreet has a one year low of $7.78 and a one year high of $12.95. The firm has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -149.39, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

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

Dun & Bradstreet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. Dun & Bradstreet's dividend payout ratio is presently -400.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Dun & Bradstreet

In related news, Chairman William P. Foley II sold 2,500,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $50,262,410.24. This trade represents a 30.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 10.44% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Amundi boosted its position in Dun & Bradstreet by 27.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 5,158 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 1,126 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in shares of Dun & Bradstreet in the first quarter worth about $93,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in Dun & Bradstreet during the 4th quarter valued at about $96,000. Vest Financial LLC bought a new position in Dun & Bradstreet during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $106,000. Finally, True Link Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Dun & Bradstreet in the 1st quarter worth approximately $114,000. 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.