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

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Dun & Bradstreet (NYSE:DNB) in a report published on Tuesday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set 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 restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $12.00 target price on shares of Dun & Bradstreet in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Dun & Bradstreet from $12.80 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Dun & Bradstreet in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.86.

Dun & Bradstreet Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE DNB opened at $8.96 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -149.31, 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. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $8.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.61. Dun & Bradstreet has a 12 month low of $7.78 and a 12 month high of $12.95.

Dun & Bradstreet (NYSE:DNB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.01. The firm 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.20 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Dun & Bradstreet will post 0.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Chinh Chu sold 10,885,403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.95, for a total transaction of $97,424,356.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 23,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,099.50. The trade was a 99.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 shares were sold at an average price of $8.96, for a total transaction of $22,400,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 5,609,644 shares in the company, valued at $50,262,410.24. This represents a 30.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,885,403 shares of company stock valued at $142,299,357. Company insiders own 10.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dun & Bradstreet

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Dun & Bradstreet by 7,875.1% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 32,299 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $402,000 after purchasing an additional 31,894 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Dun & Bradstreet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $323,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Dun & Bradstreet by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,075,848 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $50,785,000 after acquiring an additional 99,795 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Dun & Bradstreet by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,657,713 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $20,655,000 after acquiring an additional 141,054 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Dun & Bradstreet by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 60,548 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $754,000 after purchasing an additional 8,103 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.68% of the company’s stock.

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.