Short Interest in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Increases By 24.4%

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 697,600 shares, a growth of 24.4% from the February 28th total of 560,900 shares. Currently, 2.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 152,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.6 days.

Morningstar Price Performance

Morningstar stock traded up $0.37 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $301.88. The company had a trading volume of 269,801 shares, compared to its average volume of 127,620. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $312.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $327.89. Morningstar has a 1 year low of $278.64 and a 1 year high of $365.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $12.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.88 and a beta of 1.23.

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

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a $0.455 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This is a positive change from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Morningstar’s payout ratio is currently 21.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MORN. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.86, for a total value of $2,962,005.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 10,109,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,304,429,412.62. This trade represents a 0.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 59,544 shares of company stock valued at $18,770,097. 39.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morningstar

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MORN. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $111,694,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Morningstar during the 4th quarter valued at $56,584,000. Premier Fund Managers Ltd acquired a new stake in Morningstar during the 4th quarter valued at $50,694,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Morningstar by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,080,599 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $363,903,000 after buying an additional 130,087 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar in the fourth quarter worth $33,829,000. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.