Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $365.00 and last traded at $356.27, with a volume of 17124 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $352.91.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $352.00 target price on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $360.67.

Morningstar Stock Performance

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 company has a market capitalization of $15.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.19 and a beta of 1.19. The company’s 50 day moving average is $344.66 and its 200-day moving average is $320.25.

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

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.455 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. This is a positive change from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 12,840 shares in the company, valued at $4,261,339.20. The trade was a 5.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,845,718 shares in the company, 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 have sold 52,411 shares of company stock valued at $17,961,104 in the last ninety days. 39.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MORN. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 9.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,201,708 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $383,489,000 after purchasing an additional 102,206 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Morningstar by 0.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 950,512 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $303,327,000 after acquiring an additional 5,158 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Morningstar by 3.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 804,293 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $256,666,000 after buying an additional 28,698 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its stake in Morningstar by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 696,023 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $222,115,000 after purchasing an additional 85,098 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 2.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 497,411 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $158,772,000 after buying an additional 10,437 shares during the period. 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.