Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Stock Price Down 3.1% – Should You Sell?

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)’s share price dropped 3.1% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $294.45 and last traded at $292.06. Approximately 36,876 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 126,715 shares. The stock had previously closed at $301.51.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MORN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th.

Morningstar Trading Down 2.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The company has a 50 day moving average of $312.20 and a 200 day moving average of $327.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.17 and a beta of 1.23.

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

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.455 dividend. This is a positive change from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 1,716 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.89, for a total value of $562,659.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 10,151,120 shares in the company, valued at $3,328,450,736.80. The trade was a 0.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 59,544 shares of company stock valued at $18,770,097 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morningstar

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MORN. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Morningstar by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,803,611 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $944,144,000 after buying an additional 51,598 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position 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. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Morningstar by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 561,431 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $189,116,000 after purchasing an additional 64,020 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Morningstar by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 400,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $127,814,000 after buying an additional 39,263 shares in the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Morningstar

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.