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

Equities researchers at StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Dun & Bradstreet (NYSE:DNB) in a research note issued on Thursday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on DNB. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed 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. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $14.00 price target on shares of Dun & Bradstreet in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $12.00 price objective on shares of Dun & Bradstreet in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Dun & Bradstreet from $12.80 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.86.

Dun & Bradstreet Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of DNB opened at $8.74 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $9.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.90 billion, a P/E ratio of -145.63, 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 has a twelve month low of $7.78 and a twelve month high of $12.95.

Dun & Bradstreet (NYSE:DNB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $631.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $658.04 million. On average, research analysts predict that Dun & Bradstreet will post 0.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Dun & Bradstreet

In other news, Chairman William P. Foley II sold 2,500,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.99, for a total value of $22,475,000.00. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 10.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Dun & Bradstreet

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Dun & Bradstreet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,016,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Dun & Bradstreet during the 4th quarter worth $26,817,000. Contour Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Dun & Bradstreet in the 4th quarter worth about $17,018,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Dun & Bradstreet by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 17,622,318 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $219,566,000 after purchasing an additional 1,350,263 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Dun & Bradstreet by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 57,773,925 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $719,863,000 after purchasing an additional 1,275,959 shares during the last quarter. 86.68% of the stock is currently 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.