Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Hits New 52-Week High at $333.50

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $333.50 and last traded at $333.50, with a volume of 593 shares. The stock had previously closed at $320.69.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $352.00 target price on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th.

Morningstar Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.44 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $312.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $303.20.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $571.90 million during the quarter. Morningstar had a net margin of 11.34% and a return on equity of 22.34%.

Morningstar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. Morningstar’s payout ratio is presently 32.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In other Morningstar news, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.21, for a total value of $220,657.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,660,286.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Morningstar news, CFO Jason Dubinsky sold 3,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.11, for a total value of $1,020,374.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 20,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,056,519.91. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.21, for a total transaction of $220,657.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,660,286.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 62,941 shares of company stock valued at $19,402,863. Corporate insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,576,670 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $737,546,000 after buying an additional 23,812 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 0.4% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,099,502 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $325,288,000 after buying an additional 4,822 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 5.3% in the first quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 562,099 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $173,334,000 after buying an additional 28,164 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 45.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 509,486 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $145,835,000 after buying an additional 160,281 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 154.0% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 320,186 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $94,727,000 after buying an additional 194,122 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.