Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

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

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on MORN. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of 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. UBS Group started coverage on Morningstar in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $360.67.

Morningstar Stock Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:MORN opened at $322.36 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $343.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $325.17. Morningstar has a 52-week low of $269.51 and a 52-week high of $365.00. The company has a market cap of $13.82 billion, a PE ratio of 42.58 and a beta of 1.20. 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 (NASDAQ:MORN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be given a $0.455 dividend. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. This is an increase from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.04%.

Insider Transactions at Morningstar

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 118 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.13, for a total transaction of $40,371.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,788,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,691,027,765.14. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.88, for a total transaction of $248,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,840 shares in the company, valued at $4,261,339.20. The trade was a 5.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 51,661 shares of company stock worth $17,723,744 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Morningstar

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Morningstar during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Morningstar by 101.7% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Morningstar by 73.8% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Morningstar by 93.6% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 182 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Morningstar during the 3rd quarter worth $58,000. 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.