Dun & Bradstreet (NYSE:DNB) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Shares of Dun & Bradstreet Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:DNB) saw strong trading volume on Wednesday . 8,838,843 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 124% from the previous session’s volume of 3,946,161 shares.The stock last traded at $9.00 and had previously closed at $8.96.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on DNB shares. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $9.15 target price (down previously from $11.00) on shares of Dun & Bradstreet in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $14.00 target price on shares of Dun & Bradstreet in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Huber Research upgraded Dun & Bradstreet to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Dun & Bradstreet from $12.80 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $12.00 target price on shares of Dun & Bradstreet in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.86.

Dun & Bradstreet Stock Up 0.4 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $9.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.16. 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 firm has a market cap of $4.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -149.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.19.

Dun & Bradstreet (NYSE:DNB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.32 by ($0.05). Dun & Bradstreet had a positive return on equity of 11.29% and a negative net margin of 1.20%. The business had revenue of $631.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $658.04 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Dun & Bradstreet Holdings, Inc. will post 0.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dun & Bradstreet Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. Dun & Bradstreet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -333.33%.

Insider Activity at Dun & Bradstreet

In related news, Chairman William P. Foley II sold 2,500,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.99, for a total transaction of $22,475,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 8,109,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $72,905,699.56. The trade was 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. 10.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dun & Bradstreet

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Dun & Bradstreet during the 4th quarter worth $42,016,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Dun & Bradstreet during the fourth quarter worth about $26,817,000. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Dun & Bradstreet by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,465,075 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $131,963,000 after purchasing an additional 1,733,220 shares in the last quarter. Contour Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Dun & Bradstreet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $17,018,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Dun & Bradstreet by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 17,622,318 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $219,566,000 after purchasing an additional 1,350,263 shares in the last quarter. 86.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.