Morningstar, Inc. (MORN) To Go Ex-Dividend on April 4th

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, March 15th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a dividend of 0.405 per share by the business services provider on Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th.

Morningstar has increased its dividend by an average of 14.1% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 1 years. Morningstar has a payout ratio of 19.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings.

Morningstar Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MORN opened at $306.32 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $292.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $272.40. Morningstar has a 52 week low of $163.28 and a 52 week high of $316.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 93.39 and a beta of 1.15.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter. Morningstar had a return on equity of 18.54% and a net margin of 6.92%. The company had revenue of $538.70 million during the quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MORN shares. StockNews.com upgraded Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. TheStreet raised shares of Morningstar from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 3,748 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.65, for a total value of $1,021,892.20. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 10,883,563 shares in the company, valued at $2,967,403,451.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,470 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.23, for a total value of $2,070,908.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 10,927,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,029,334,071.73. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 3,748 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.65, for a total transaction of $1,021,892.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 10,883,563 shares in the company, valued at $2,967,403,451.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 95,544 shares of company stock worth $27,733,515 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Morningstar

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MORN. O Dell Group LLC purchased a new position in Morningstar during the 4th quarter worth $48,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its position in shares of Morningstar by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 10,901 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,120,000 after buying an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Ashford Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Morningstar by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Ashford Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,885 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,257,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of Morningstar by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 1,066 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $305,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 31,492 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,014,000 after acquiring an additional 984 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

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.