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

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

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on MORN. Redburn Atlantic downgraded 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. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $352.00 price objective on shares of Morningstar in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Morningstar in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $360.67.

Morningstar Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of MORN stock traded up $6.13 during trading on Thursday, reaching $349.40. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 78,801 shares, compared to its average volume of 115,358. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $325.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $309.16. 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 company has a market cap of $14.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.04 and a beta of 1.18. Morningstar has a one year low of $259.50 and a one year high of $350.68.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.40%.

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.45, for a total value of $2,985,475.90. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,836,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,570,136,319.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.45, for a total value of $2,985,475.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 10,836,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,570,136,319.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 5,149 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.30, for a total transaction of $1,571,989.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,610,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,239,402,441.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 61,492 shares of company stock worth $19,430,128. Corporate insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Morningstar by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,099,502 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $325,288,000 after buying an additional 4,822 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Morningstar by 154.0% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 320,186 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $94,727,000 after buying an additional 194,122 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Morningstar by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 272,075 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $80,492,000 after buying an additional 4,722 shares during the last quarter. M&G PLC raised its holdings in Morningstar by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 182,808 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $58,316,000 after buying an additional 9,703 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc raised its holdings in Morningstar by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. M&G Plc now owns 173,105 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $51,239,000 after buying an additional 3,322 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

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.