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

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on MORN. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th.

Morningstar Trading Up 0.5 %

MORN traded up $1.64 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $301.51. 235,731 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 127,053. Morningstar has a 52-week low of $278.64 and a 52-week high of $365.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.92 billion, a PE ratio of 39.83 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $312.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $327.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

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

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.455 per share. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is an increase from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Morningstar’s payout ratio is currently 21.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.25, for a total value of $2,557,749.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 10,038,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,833,301,707.50. This trade represents a 0.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 59,544 shares of company stock worth $18,770,097. Corporate insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Morningstar

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new position in Morningstar in the fourth quarter worth about $915,000. Forum Financial Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the fourth quarter valued at about $223,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $33,116,000 after buying an additional 9,658 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in shares of Morningstar by 795.7% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 20,600 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,937,000 after buying an additional 18,300 shares during the last quarter. 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.