Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 461,000 shares, a growth of 289.4% from the October 31st total of 118,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 130,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days. Currently, 1.7% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.48, for a total transaction of $237,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,300,963.20. The trade was a 5.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 6,110 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.18, for a total transaction of $1,907,419.80. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 10,539,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,290,289,165.24. This trade represents a 0.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 64,879 shares of company stock valued at $21,672,132. Company insiders own 37.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morningstar

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Morningstar by 326.9% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 111 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Morningstar in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. DT Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MORN shares. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $352.00 price objective on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $360.67.

Morningstar Trading Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ:MORN traded up $0.91 on Wednesday, reaching $355.65. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 109,473 shares, compared to its average volume of 119,709. The firm has a market cap of $15.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.98 and a beta of 1.18. 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 has a 12-month low of $269.51 and a 12-month high of $359.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $334.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $314.24.

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

Morningstar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. Morningstar’s payout ratio is currently 21.40%.

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.