Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

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

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Redburn Atlantic lowered 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 initiated coverage on Morningstar in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $360.67.

Morningstar Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MORN opened at $322.36 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.58 and a beta of 1.20. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $343.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $325.17. Morningstar has a 1 year low of $269.51 and a 1 year high of $365.00.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.01). Morningstar had a return on equity of 23.28% and a net margin of 14.69%. The company had revenue of $569.40 million during the quarter.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd will be paid a $0.455 dividend. This is an increase from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In other news, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.88, for a total value of $248,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,261,339.20. This represents a 5.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.45, for a total transaction of $2,985,475.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 10,836,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,570,136,319.20. This trade represents a 0.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 51,661 shares of company stock worth $17,723,744 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Morningstar

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