Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) to Issue Dividend Increase – $0.46 Per Share

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, December 6th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of 0.455 per share by the business services provider on Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This is an increase from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41.

Morningstar has decreased its dividend by an average of 0.3% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 15 years. Morningstar has a payout ratio of 20.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings.

Morningstar Price Performance

MORN stock opened at $336.76 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $14.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.49 and a beta of 1.19. Morningstar has a fifty-two week low of $269.51 and a fifty-two week high of $365.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $344.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $323.75.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.22, for a total transaction of $2,974,329.64. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,845,718 shares in the company, valued at $3,559,781,561.96. 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 is available through this link. Also, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.88, for a total value of $248,910.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,840 shares in the company, valued at $4,261,339.20. This represents a 5.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 51,661 shares of company stock worth $17,723,744. 39.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MORN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. UBS Group started coverage on Morningstar in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $360.67.

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.