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

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in 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 trading volume of 108,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.1 days. Approximately 0.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Morningstar Trading Down 1.6 %

MORN stock traded down $5.42 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $337.57. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 128,763 shares, compared to its average volume of 118,571. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $329.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $311.32. 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 52 week low of $264.79 and a 52 week high of $352.55. The stock has a market cap of $14.48 billion, a PE ratio of 44.59 and a beta of 1.18.

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). 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is 21.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MORN shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Morningstar in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued 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 target price on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morningstar currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $360.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the 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 sale, the director now directly owns 14,340 shares in the company, valued at $4,468,344. This represents a 4.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 3,838 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.90, for a total value of $1,212,424.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 10,581,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,342,578,967. The trade was a 0.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 71,195 shares of company stock worth $23,252,260 over the last three months. 39.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Morningstar by 9.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,201,708 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $383,489,000 after acquiring an additional 102,206 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 950,512 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $303,327,000 after purchasing an additional 5,158 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Morningstar by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 804,293 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $256,666,000 after purchasing an additional 28,698 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its stake in Morningstar by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 696,023 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $222,115,000 after purchasing an additional 85,098 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Morningstar by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 497,411 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $158,772,000 after buying an additional 10,437 shares during the period. 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.