Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.41

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, September 20th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a dividend of 0.405 per share by the business services provider on Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th.

Morningstar has decreased its dividend by an average of 0.3% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 15 years. Morningstar has a dividend payout ratio of 20.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings.

Morningstar Trading Up 0.5 %

MORN stock traded up $1.52 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $322.34. 66,787 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 112,761. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.81 and a beta of 1.18. Morningstar has a 52-week low of $219.45 and a 52-week high of $330.22. The business has a 50 day moving average of $311.52 and a 200-day moving average of $302.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $571.90 million for the quarter. Morningstar had a return on equity of 22.34% and a net margin of 11.34%.

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In other news, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.21, for a total value of $220,657.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,840 shares in the company, valued at $4,660,286.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.21, for a total value of $220,657.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,840 shares in the company, valued at $4,660,286.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 8,056 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.95, for a total value of $2,464,733.20. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 10,517,257 shares in the company, valued at $3,217,754,779.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 63,231 shares of company stock worth $19,488,988 in the last quarter. 39.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $352.00 price target on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th.

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.