Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Short Interest Up 24.4% in March

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) saw a large growth in short interest in 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 daily volume of 152,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.6 days. Currently, 2.8% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MORN. StockNews.com raised Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd.

Morningstar Price Performance

Shares of MORN opened at $301.88 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $311.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $327.70. The stock has a market cap of $12.93 billion, a PE ratio of 39.88 and a beta of 1.23. Morningstar has a 1-year low of $278.64 and a 1-year high of $365.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

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

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.455 dividend. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. This is a boost from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. Morningstar’s payout ratio is presently 21.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 3,635 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.44, for a total transaction of $1,182,974.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 10,142,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,300,838,335.36. The trade was a 0.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 59,544 shares of company stock valued at $18,770,097 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.