Morningstar, Inc. (MORN) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.46 on April 30th

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, December 6th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of 0.455 per share by the business services provider on Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This is an increase from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41.

Morningstar has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 0.3% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 15 years. Morningstar has a dividend payout ratio of 20.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings.

Morningstar Trading Down 0.3 %

MORN stock opened at $336.76 on Wednesday. Morningstar has a 12-month low of $269.51 and a 12-month high of $365.00. The business’s 50-day moving average is $344.19 and its 200 day moving average is $323.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $14.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.49 and a beta of 1.19.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last issued its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $569.40 million during the quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MORN has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Redburn Atlantic cut Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Morningstar in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Morningstar currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $360.67.

Insider Transactions at Morningstar

In related news, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.88, for a total value 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 trade represents a 5.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jason Dubinsky sold 3,223 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $352.88, for a total value of $1,137,332.24. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,106,235.52. The trade was a 15.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 51,661 shares of company stock worth $17,723,744 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 39.90% 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.