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

StockNews.com cut shares of Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Monday.

Morningstar Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of MORN stock opened at $328.45 on Monday. Morningstar has a twelve month low of $269.51 and a twelve month high of $365.00. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $331.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $329.41. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $14.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.39 and a beta of 1.20.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.455 per share. This is a boost from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In other Morningstar news, CFO Jason Dubinsky sold 3,223 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $352.88, for a total value of $1,137,332.24. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 17,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,106,235.52. The trade was a 15.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 1,280 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.57, for a total transaction of $410,329.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 10,130,378 shares in the company, valued at $3,247,495,275.46. This trade represents a 0.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 23,106 shares of company stock worth $7,878,540. Insiders own 37.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morningstar

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Morningstar by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 98,337 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,116,000 after purchasing an additional 9,658 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 795.7% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 20,600 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,937,000 after acquiring an additional 18,300 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP purchased a new position in Morningstar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $12,203,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in Morningstar by 40.3% during the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 1,695 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $571,000 after acquiring an additional 487 shares during the period. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Morningstar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $208,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

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.