StockNews.com Upgrades Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) to “Buy”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Friday.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on MORN. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $352.00 target price on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $360.67.

Morningstar Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MORN opened at $334.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Morningstar has a 1-year low of $269.51 and a 1-year high of $352.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $329.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $311.69. The stock has a market cap of $14.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.59 and a beta of 1.18.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last issued its 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 return on equity of 23.28% and a net margin of 14.69%. The business had revenue of $569.40 million for the quarter.

Morningstar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. Morningstar’s payout ratio is 21.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 8,056 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.95, for a total transaction of $2,464,733.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,517,257 shares in the company, valued at $3,217,754,779.15. The trade was a 0.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $311.60, for a total transaction of $233,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,340 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,468,344. The trade was a 4.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 67,475 shares of company stock worth $22,080,207 in the last quarter. 39.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in Morningstar by 60.8% during the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 1,140 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $352,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the first quarter worth approximately $66,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Morningstar by 0.4% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 22,413 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,911,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in Morningstar by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,764 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $852,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in Morningstar in the 1st quarter valued at $427,000. 57.02% of the stock is currently 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.