StockNews.com Downgrades Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) to Hold

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

Separately, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd.

Morningstar Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of MORN stock opened at $300.74 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $314.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $327.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Morningstar has a 1-year low of $278.64 and a 1-year high of $365.00. The firm has a market cap of $12.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.73 and a beta of 1.23.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $591.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $580.81 million. Morningstar had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 23.28%.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.455 per share. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. This is a boost from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. Morningstar’s payout ratio is 21.24%.

Insider Transactions at Morningstar

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.86, for a total transaction of $2,962,005.32. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 10,109,617 shares in the company, valued at $3,304,429,412.62. The trade was a 0.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 59,544 shares of company stock valued at $18,770,097 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morningstar

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Morningstar by 178.6% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 78 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morningstar in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Morningstar during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in Morningstar by 49.5% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Morningstar in the 3rd quarter worth $58,000. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.