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

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on MORN. Redburn Atlantic cut Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $360.67.

Morningstar Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MORN opened at $339.81 on Friday. 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 $14.57 billion, a PE ratio of 44.89 and a beta of 1.19. Morningstar has a 12-month low of $269.51 and a 12-month high of $365.00. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $344.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $322.78.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $569.40 million during the quarter. Morningstar had a return on equity of 23.28% and a net margin of 14.69%.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be issued a $0.455 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. This is a positive change from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.22, for a total value of $3,219,003.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,738,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,814,431,929.28. The trade was a 0.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Jason Dubinsky sold 3,223 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $352.88, for a total transaction of $1,137,332.24. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,304 shares in the company, valued at $6,106,235.52. The trade was a 15.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,411 shares of company stock valued at $17,961,104 over the last quarter. 39.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Morningstar

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MORN. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Morningstar by 3.4% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,259 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $402,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Morningstar by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 3,025 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $895,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV raised its holdings in Morningstar by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV now owns 2,254 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $719,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. George Kaiser Family Foundation boosted its position in Morningstar by 0.7% during the second quarter. George Kaiser Family Foundation now owns 7,693 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,276,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Morningstar by 15.7% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 413 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $132,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. 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.