Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Redburn Atlantic downgraded 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. UBS Group started coverage on Morningstar in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $360.67.

Morningstar Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MORN opened at $327.17 on Wednesday. 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 cap of $14.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.22 and a beta of 1.20. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $341.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $326.31. Morningstar has a 1-year low of $269.51 and a 1-year high of $365.00.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $569.40 million for the quarter. Morningstar had a return on equity of 23.28% and a net margin of 14.69%.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd will be issued a $0.455 dividend. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. This is an increase from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. Morningstar’s payout ratio is presently 24.04%.

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In related news, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the director now directly owns 12,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,261,339.20. The trade was a 5.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.22, for a total value of $3,219,003.64. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 10,738,224 shares in the company, valued at $3,814,431,929.28. The trade was a 0.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 51,661 shares of company stock worth $17,723,744. 37.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morningstar

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MORN. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Morningstar by 154.0% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 320,186 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $94,727,000 after purchasing an additional 194,122 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 9.3% in the 3rd 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 buying an additional 102,206 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 13.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 696,023 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $222,115,000 after buying an additional 85,098 shares during the period. Boston Financial Mangement LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the 3rd quarter valued at about $19,666,000. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Morningstar by 10.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 400,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $127,814,000 after acquiring an additional 39,263 shares during the last quarter. 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.