Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Downgraded to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

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

MORN has been the topic of several other research reports. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group initiated 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $352.00 price objective on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $360.67.

Morningstar Stock Performance

Shares of Morningstar stock opened at $354.74 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. Morningstar has a 1 year low of $269.51 and a 1 year high of $357.06. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $333.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $313.95. The firm has a market cap of $15.21 billion, a PE ratio of 46.86 and a beta of 1.18.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last posted its quarterly 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 during the quarter. Morningstar had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 23.28%.

Morningstar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $328.22, for a total transaction of $2,974,329.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,845,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,559,781,561.96. This trade represents a 0.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.48, for a total value of $237,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 55,817 shares of company stock valued at $18,453,128 over the last 90 days. 37.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morningstar

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