Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Short Interest Update

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 118,400 shares, a drop 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 currently 1.1 days. Currently, 0.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morningstar news, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.48, for a total value of $237,360.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,300,963.20. The trade was a 5.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $328.22, for a total transaction of $2,974,329.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 10,845,718 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,559,781,561.96. This trade represents a 0.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 71,195 shares of company stock valued at $23,252,260. 39.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Morningstar by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,259 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $402,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 21.9% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 245 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 1.6% during the second 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 during the last quarter. Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV increased its position in Morningstar by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV now owns 2,254 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $719,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Morningstar by 38.6% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 183 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morningstar Price Performance

Shares of MORN traded down $5.15 on Friday, reaching $337.84. The stock had a trading volume of 59,482 shares, compared to its average volume of 118,259. Morningstar has a twelve month low of $264.79 and a twelve month high of $352.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.49 billion, a PE ratio of 44.94 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $328.76 and a 200 day moving average of $310.94. 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 (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share 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 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. Morningstar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on MORN. Redburn Atlantic downgraded 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 started coverage on Morningstar in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $390.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Morningstar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morningstar currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.