Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

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

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $352.00 price objective on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $360.67.

Morningstar Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of MORN stock opened at $346.21 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.85 billion, a PE ratio of 45.73 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. Morningstar has a 1 year low of $269.51 and a 1 year high of $352.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $332.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $312.97.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morningstar news, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $311.60, for a total transaction of $233,700.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,340 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,468,344. The trade was a 4.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 5,724 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $311.27, for a total value of $1,781,709.48. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 10,551,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,284,364,782.46. The trade was a 0.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 61,541 shares of company stock worth $20,234,838. 39.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Morningstar

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MORN. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Morningstar by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,259 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $402,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 21.9% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 245 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 1.6% in the second quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 3,025 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $895,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 2.2% in the third quarter. Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV now owns 2,254 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $719,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 38.6% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 183 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.