Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Saturday morning.

MORN has been the topic of several other reports. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $352.00 target price on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Morningstar in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $360.67.

Morningstar Price Performance

MORN opened at $352.76 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.13 billion, a PE ratio of 46.60 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The business’s 50-day moving average is $333.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $313.55. Morningstar has a 1 year low of $269.51 and a 1 year high of $352.94.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $569.40 million for the quarter. Morningstar had a return on equity of 23.28% and a net margin of 14.69%.

Morningstar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In other news, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $311.60, for a total transaction of $233,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,468,344. The trade was a 4.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 118 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.13, for a total transaction of $40,371.34. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 10,788,378 shares in the company, valued at $3,691,027,765.14. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 55,817 shares of company stock worth $18,453,128. Company insiders own 37.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morningstar during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Morningstar by 326.9% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 111 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the second quarter valued at about $35,000. DT Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the second quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 101.7% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Company Profile

Morningstar, Inc provides independent investment insights in the United States, Asia. Australia, Continental Europe, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company operates in five segments: Morningstar Data and Analytics; PitchBook; Morningstar Wealth; Morningstar Credit; and Morningstar Retirement.