Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

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

Separately, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd.

Morningstar Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MORN opened at $296.64 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $12.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.19 and a beta of 1.23. Morningstar has a 52 week low of $278.64 and a 52 week high of $365.00. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $316.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $328.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

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

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.455 dividend. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. This is a positive change from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is 21.24%.

Insider Transactions at Morningstar

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 3,635 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.44, for a total transaction of $1,182,974.40. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,142,694 shares in the company, valued at $3,300,838,335.36. This represents a 0.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold a total of 59,544 shares of company stock worth $18,770,097 in the last three months. Company insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,643 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $553,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of Morningstar during the 4th quarter worth about $915,000. Forum Financial Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Morningstar during the 4th quarter worth about $223,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 10.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 9,658 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 795.7% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 20,600 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,937,000 after acquiring an additional 18,300 shares during the period. 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.