Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Short Interest Down 22.9% in March

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 172,000 shares, a drop of 22.9% from the March 15th total of 223,200 shares. Approximately 0.6% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 131,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.3 days.

Morningstar Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MORN traded down $3.87 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $305.85. The stock had a trading volume of 83,185 shares, compared to its average volume of 116,397. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $297.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $276.07. Morningstar has a twelve month low of $163.28 and a twelve month high of $316.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 93.25 and a beta of 1.15.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter. Morningstar had a return on equity of 18.54% and a net margin of 6.92%. The business had revenue of $538.70 million during the quarter.

Morningstar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Morningstar's dividend payout ratio is presently 49.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on MORN. TheStreet raised Morningstar from a "c" rating to a "b" rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Morningstar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th.

Insider Transactions at Morningstar

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 6,926 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.39, for a total transaction of $1,935,055.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 10,934,986 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,055,125,738.54. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Morningstar news, Director Steven N. Kaplan sold 1,250 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.81, for a total value of $383,512.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 44,427 shares in the company, valued at $13,630,647.87. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 6,926 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.39, for a total transaction of $1,935,055.14. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 10,934,986 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,055,125,738.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 95,544 shares of company stock valued at $27,733,515. Corporate insiders own 39.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Morningstar

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Morningstar by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 232 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Morningstar by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 896 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in Morningstar by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 324 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT lifted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT now owns 2,541 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $727,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Morningstar by 52.3% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 166 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.