Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

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

Morningstar Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ MORN traded up $0.37 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $301.88. 269,801 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 127,620. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.88 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $312.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $327.89. Morningstar has a 1 year low of $278.64 and a 1 year high of $365.00.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last posted its quarterly 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 the consensus estimate 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. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.455 per share. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is an increase from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is 21.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com cut Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th.

Insider Transactions at Morningstar

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 3,635 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.44, for a total value 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 59,544 shares of company stock worth $18,770,097 over the last ninety days. 39.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MORN. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Morningstar by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,626 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,895,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Morningstar by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 285 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in Morningstar by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,798 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $605,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 49.5% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position 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 worth $26,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.