Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Sets New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) shares hit a new 52-week low on Friday . The company traded as low as $275.53 and last traded at $275.76, with a volume of 11978 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $290.42.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com raised Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday.

Morningstar Trading Down 7.6 %

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 firm has a market cap of $11.51 billion, a PE ratio of 35.50 and a beta of 1.16. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $309.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $327.16.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $591.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $580.81 million. Morningstar had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 23.28%.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.455 per share. This is an increase from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is 21.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 3,635 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.44, for a total transaction of $1,182,974.40. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 10,142,694 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,300,838,335.36. This represents a 0.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 59,544 shares of company stock valued at $18,770,097 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morningstar

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MORN. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Morningstar by 16.9% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,983 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,909,000 after purchasing an additional 866 shares in the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Morningstar during the 3rd quarter worth about $301,000. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,371 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,076,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morningstar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $452,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 74.5% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,562 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $499,000 after acquiring an additional 667 shares during the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.