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

StockNews.com lowered shares of Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Friday.

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

Morningstar Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MORN opened at $340.32 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.96 and a beta of 1.19. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $344.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $321.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Morningstar has a 12-month low of $269.51 and a 12-month high of $365.00.

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

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.455 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. This is a boost from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.04%.

Insider Transactions at Morningstar

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.22, for a total transaction of $3,219,003.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 10,738,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,814,431,929.28. This represents a 0.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jason Dubinsky sold 3,223 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $352.88, for a total transaction of $1,137,332.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,304 shares in the company, valued at $6,106,235.52. The trade was a 15.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,411 shares of company stock worth $17,961,104 over the last three months. 39.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morningstar

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MORN. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Morningstar by 9.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,201,708 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $383,489,000 after buying an additional 102,206 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Morningstar by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 950,512 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $303,327,000 after acquiring an additional 5,158 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Morningstar by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 804,293 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $256,666,000 after acquiring an additional 28,698 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Morningstar by 13.9% during the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 696,023 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $222,115,000 after purchasing an additional 85,098 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 2.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 497,411 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $158,772,000 after purchasing an additional 10,437 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Morningstar

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.