Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Trading Down 7.6% – Here’s Why

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)’s share price traded down 7.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $184.28 and last traded at $183.2290. 72,755 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 380,878 shares. The stock had previously closed at $198.29.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets set a $250.00 target price on shares of Morningstar in a report on Thursday, October 30th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Morningstar from $350.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $285.00.

Morningstar Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $213.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $231.54. The stock has a market cap of $7.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.79 and a beta of 1.08.

Morningstar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 2nd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 2nd. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 1,286 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.12, for a total transaction of $274,072.32. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 8,600,815 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,833,005,692.80. This trade represents a 0.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Caroline J. Tsay sold 600 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction on Monday, December 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.48, for a total transaction of $131,088.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,745 shares in the company, valued at approximately $818,207.60. This trade represents a 13.81% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 50,182 shares of company stock worth $10,653,159. 36.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Morningstar

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of Morningstar in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in Morningstar in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Morningstar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in shares of Morningstar by 120.5% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 172 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Company Profile

Morningstar, Inc is a leading provider of independent investment research, data, and analytics, serving both individual investors and financial professionals. The company offers comprehensive coverage of financial products, including mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), stocks, bonds and market indexes. Morningstar’s proprietary rating systems and research methodologies help clients assess the risk and return profiles of investment opportunities and make informed decisions.

Its core products include Morningstar Direct, an institutional investment analysis platform; Morningstar Office Cloud, a portfolio management solution for advisors; and Morningstar Data, which delivers extensive datasets through APIs and data feeds.