Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Short Interest Down 19.5% in October

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 118,400 shares, a decline of 19.5% from the October 15th total of 147,000 shares. Based on an average daily 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.

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In other news, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.88, for a total transaction of $248,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,840 shares in the company, valued at $4,261,339.20. The trade was a 5.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 6,209 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.12, for a total value of $1,937,953.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 10,574,707 shares in the company, valued at $3,300,577,548.84. This represents a 0.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 71,195 shares of company stock valued at $23,252,260. Corporate insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morningstar

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Morningstar by 3.4% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 21.9% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 245 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Legacy Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 3,025 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $895,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Morningstar by 38.6% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 183 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $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 Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of MORN stock opened at $342.99 on Friday. Morningstar has a 12 month low of $264.79 and a 12 month high of $352.55. 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 firm has a market cap of $14.71 billion, a PE ratio of 45.31 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $328.13 and a 200-day moving average of $310.72.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last issued 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). The company 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 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 paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is 21.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of 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. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $352.00 price target on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. UBS Group started coverage on Morningstar in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $360.67.

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.