Short Interest in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Declines By 19.5%

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 118,400 shares, a decrease of 19.5% from the October 15th total of 147,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 108,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.1 days. Approximately 0.4% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MORN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Redburn Atlantic lowered Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 price objective for the company. in a research note 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 price objective for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $352.00 price objective on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $360.67.

Morningstar Trading Down 1.6 %

Morningstar stock traded down $5.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $337.57. The stock had a trading volume of 128,763 shares, compared to its average volume of 155,994. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $329.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $311.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.48 billion, a PE ratio of 44.59 and a beta of 1.18. Morningstar has a 12 month low of $264.79 and a 12 month high of $352.55. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $569.40 million during the quarter. Morningstar had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 23.28%.

Morningstar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morningstar news, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $311.60, for a total transaction of $233,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,468,344. This represents a 4.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 3,825 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.05, for a total value of $1,342,766.25. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 10,791,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,788,313,949. The trade was a 0.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 71,195 shares of company stock worth $23,252,260. Insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morningstar

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MORN. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in Morningstar by 60.8% during the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 1,140 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $352,000 after buying an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Morningstar during the first quarter worth about $66,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 22,413 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,911,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,764 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $852,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Morningstar during the 1st quarter valued at about $427,000. 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.