StockNews.com Downgrades Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) to Hold

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Monday.

Morningstar Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MORN opened at $325.02 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $13.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.94 and a beta of 1.20. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $333.28 and its 200-day moving average is $329.22. Morningstar has a 52-week low of $269.51 and a 52-week high of $365.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.455 per share. This is a boost from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Jason Dubinsky sold 3,223 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $352.88, for a total value of $1,137,332.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,106,235.52. The trade was a 15.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.22, for a total transaction of $3,219,003.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 10,738,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,814,431,929.28. This trade represents a 0.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,106 shares of company stock worth $7,878,540 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Morningstar during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 125.2% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar in the 3rd quarter valued at $203,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 107,032 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,156,000 after buying an additional 2,064 shares during the period. Finally, Precision Wealth Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 2,499 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $797,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

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.