Dun & Bradstreet (NYSE:DNB) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at StockNews.com

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

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Dun & Bradstreet from $12.80 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $9.15 price objective (down previously from $11.00) on shares of Dun & Bradstreet in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $12.00 target price on shares of Dun & Bradstreet in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating and issued a $14.00 price target on shares of Dun & Bradstreet in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Dun & Bradstreet currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $11.86.

Dun & Bradstreet Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of DNB traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $8.97. 4,123,448 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,649,891. 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 stock's 50-day moving average is $8.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.76. Dun & Bradstreet has a 12 month low of $7.78 and a 12 month high of $12.95. The stock has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a P/E ratio of -149.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.14.

Dun & Bradstreet (NYSE:DNB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.05). Dun & Bradstreet had a negative net margin of 1.20% and a positive return on equity of 11.29%. The company had revenue of $631.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $658.04 million. Research analysts forecast that Dun & Bradstreet will post 0.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman William P. Foley II sold 2,500,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.99, for a total value of $22,475,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 8,109,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $72,905,699.56. This represents a 23.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 10.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Dun & Bradstreet

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Dun & Bradstreet by 144.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,192,700 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $13,728,000 after acquiring an additional 705,707 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Dun & Bradstreet by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,209,101 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $15,065,000 after purchasing an additional 42,320 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Dun & Bradstreet by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 60,548 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $754,000 after buying an additional 8,103 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd grew its stake in shares of Dun & Bradstreet by 46.1% in the fourth quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 24,644 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $307,000 after buying an additional 7,773 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Dun & Bradstreet by 30.2% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 12,861 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $160,000 after buying an additional 2,983 shares during the period. 86.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Dun & Bradstreet

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.