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 issued to investors on Thursday morning.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on MORN. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective on the stock. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $352.00 price target 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $360.67.

Morningstar Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of Morningstar stock opened at $352.91 on Thursday. Morningstar has a 1 year low of $269.51 and a 1 year high of $362.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $15.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.62 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a 50-day moving average of $343.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $318.92.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) 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 Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.455 per share. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. This is a boost from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Morningstar’s payout ratio is currently 24.04%.

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In other news, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.88, for a total transaction of $248,910.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,261,339.20. This trade represents a 5.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.22, for a total transaction of $2,974,329.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 10,845,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,559,781,561.96. The trade was a 0.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,188 shares of company stock worth $16,823,772 in the last ninety days. 39.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Morningstar

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Morningstar by 2.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 191,765 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $61,196,000 after purchasing an additional 5,045 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Morningstar by 12.7% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,843 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,056,000 after purchasing an additional 1,789 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its position in Morningstar by 259.3% during the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 13,769 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,394,000 after purchasing an additional 9,937 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the 2nd quarter worth $9,366,000. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in shares of Morningstar in the third quarter worth about $3,181,000. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.