Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

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

MORN has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Redburn Atlantic lowered Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $352.00 target price on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Morningstar in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $360.67.

Morningstar Price Performance

NASDAQ:MORN opened at $340.32 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $344.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $320.84. Morningstar has a 12-month low of $269.51 and a 12-month high of $365.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.96 and a beta of 1.19.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last announced its earnings results 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 business 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 Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.455 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. This is a boost from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Morningstar’s payout ratio is currently 21.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In related news, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.48, for a total transaction of $237,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,300,963.20. This trade represents a 5.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Jason Dubinsky sold 3,223 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $352.88, for a total value of $1,137,332.24. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,106,235.52. This represents a 15.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 52,411 shares of company stock valued at $17,961,104. 39.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Morningstar by 154.0% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 320,186 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $94,727,000 after purchasing an additional 194,122 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Morningstar by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,201,708 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $383,489,000 after buying an additional 102,206 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its stake in Morningstar by 13.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 696,023 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $222,115,000 after purchasing an additional 85,098 shares in the last quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the third quarter valued at $19,666,000. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 10.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 400,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $127,814,000 after purchasing an additional 39,263 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.