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

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 697,600 shares, a growth of 24.4% from the February 28th total of 560,900 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 152,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.6 days. Approximately 2.8% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MORN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Morningstar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday.

Insider Transactions at Morningstar

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.86, for a total transaction of $2,962,005.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,109,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,304,429,412.62. This trade represents a 0.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 59,544 shares of company stock worth $18,770,097 over the last 90 days. 39.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MORN. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morningstar by 178.6% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 78 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Morningstar in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 49.5% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $58,000. 57.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morningstar Price Performance

MORN traded down $10.91 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $257.85. 308,233 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 129,456. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $309.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $327.24. Morningstar has a 52-week low of $253.35 and a 52-week high of $365.00. The company has a market capitalization of $11.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.06 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.15. Morningstar had a return on equity of 23.28% and a net margin of 14.69%. The business 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.455 dividend. This is an increase 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. Morningstar's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.24%.

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.