Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Short Interest Down 19.5% in October

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 118,400 shares, a drop of 19.5% from the October 15th total of 147,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 108,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.1 days. Currently, 0.4% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com raised Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group assumed coverage on Morningstar in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price target for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $352.00 target price on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $360.67.

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In other Morningstar news, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.88, for a total transaction of $248,910.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,261,339.20. The trade was a 5.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 3,838 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.90, for a total value of $1,212,424.20. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,581,130 shares in the company, valued at $3,342,578,967. This trade represents a 0.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 71,195 shares of company stock valued at $23,252,260. 39.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morningstar

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MORN. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Morningstar in the third quarter worth $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 326.9% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 111 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. DT Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 101.7% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morningstar Stock Performance

Shares of MORN traded down $5.42 on Friday, reaching $337.57. 128,763 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 155,994. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $14.48 billion, a PE ratio of 44.59 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $329.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $311.52. Morningstar has a 52-week low of $264.79 and a 52-week high of $352.55.

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

Morningstar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. Morningstar’s payout ratio is currently 21.40%.

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.