Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday.

MORN has been the topic of several other research reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price on the stock. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $360.67.

Morningstar Price Performance

Morningstar stock opened at $327.17 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $341.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $326.31. Morningstar has a 1 year low of $269.51 and a 1 year high of $365.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.22 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.01). Morningstar had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 23.28%. The company had revenue of $569.40 million during the quarter.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be paid a $0.455 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. This is an increase from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.04%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.88, for a total transaction of $248,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,261,339.20. This represents a 5.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 118 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.13, for a total transaction of $40,371.34. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,788,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,691,027,765.14. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 51,661 shares of company stock valued at $17,723,744. 37.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Morningstar

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 2.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 497,411 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $158,772,000 after buying an additional 10,437 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Morningstar by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 191,765 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $61,196,000 after acquiring an additional 5,045 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Morningstar by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,843 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,056,000 after acquiring an additional 1,789 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its position in Morningstar by 259.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 13,769 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,394,000 after acquiring an additional 9,937 shares in the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the third quarter worth about $3,181,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.