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

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

Separately, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd.

Morningstar Stock Up 1.0 %

MORN opened at $273.35 on Friday. Morningstar has a 52 week low of $250.34 and a 52 week high of $365.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $301.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $324.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $11.71 billion, a PE ratio of 36.11 and a beta of 1.16.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $591.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $580.81 million. Morningstar had a return on equity of 23.28% and a net margin of 14.69%.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.455 dividend. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is an increase from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is 21.24%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 3,635 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.44, for a total value of $1,182,974.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 10,142,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,300,838,335.36. The trade was a 0.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 59,544 shares of company stock worth $18,770,097 over the last ninety days. 39.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morningstar

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Morningstar during the fourth quarter worth about $111,694,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar during the 4th quarter valued at about $56,584,000. Premier Fund Managers Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Morningstar during the 4th quarter worth about $50,694,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 30,785.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 144,237 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $43,252,000 after acquiring an additional 143,770 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Morningstar by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,080,599 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $363,903,000 after purchasing an additional 130,087 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.