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

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MORN has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com raised Morningstar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd.

Morningstar Stock Down 4.9 %

The firm's 50 day moving average price is $309.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $327.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $10.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.74 and a beta of 1.16.

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

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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 is a boost from Morningstar's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. Morningstar's payout ratio is 21.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.25, for a total value of $2,557,749.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 10,038,270 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,833,301,707.50. The trade was a 0.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 59,544 shares of company stock valued at $18,770,097. 39.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Morningstar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $111,694,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $56,584,000. Premier Fund Managers Ltd acquired a new stake in Morningstar during the 4th quarter worth about $50,694,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,080,599 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $363,903,000 after acquiring an additional 130,087 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the 4th quarter worth about $33,829,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.