Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Sets New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $202.00 and last traded at $202.6440, with a volume of 40160 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $211.24.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Morningstar Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $8.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.89 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $214.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $233.61.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $2.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.42 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $617.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $603.29 million. Morningstar had a net margin of 15.70% and a return on equity of 25.07%.

Morningstar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 2nd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Morningstar’s payout ratio is currently 22.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 1,286 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.12, for a total value of $274,072.32. Following the sale, the chairman owned 8,600,815 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,833,005,692.80. This trade represents a 0.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Caroline J. Tsay sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 29th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $818,207.60. This trade represents a 13.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 64,350 shares of company stock worth $13,668,311 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 36.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Morningstar

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 106.9% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 608,244 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $141,119,000 after acquiring an additional 314,275 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Morningstar during the second quarter worth approximately $93,224,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Morningstar by 266.5% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 280,923 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $88,190,000 after purchasing an additional 204,277 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in Morningstar by 22,716.4% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 162,681 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $50,512,000 after purchasing an additional 161,968 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Morningstar by 362.8% in the third quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 187,128 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $43,416,000 after purchasing an additional 146,693 shares during the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.