Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at UBS Group

UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) in a report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $390.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock.

Separately, BMO Capital Markets reissued an outperform rating and issued a $352.00 target price on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $354.00.

Morningstar Stock Up 7.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ MORN opened at $335.28 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 67.73 and a beta of 1.19. Morningstar has a one year low of $219.45 and a one year high of $335.67. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $312.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $303.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $571.90 million for 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. Morningstar’s payout ratio is 32.73%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 1,144 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $317.03, for a total value of $362,682.32. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 10,640,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,373,442,679.04. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 1,144 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $317.03, for a total value of $362,682.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,640,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,373,442,679.04. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CRO Daniel Joseph Dunn sold 1,600 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.89, for a total value of $513,424.00. Following the sale, the executive now owns 12,967 shares in the company, valued at $4,160,980.63. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 59,541 shares of company stock valued at $18,399,192. Insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Morningstar by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,576,670 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $737,546,000 after purchasing an additional 23,812 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,099,502 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $325,288,000 after purchasing an additional 4,822 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Morningstar by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 562,099 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $173,334,000 after buying an additional 28,164 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Morningstar by 45.9% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Morningstar by 154.0% during 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 last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by 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.