Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Upgraded 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 Thursday.

Morningstar Price Performance

Shares of Morningstar stock opened at $313.72 on Thursday. Morningstar has a twelve month low of $281.37 and a twelve month 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $327.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $330.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.44 and a beta of 1.20.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last issued its 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be paid a $0.455 dividend. 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 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.04%.

Insider Activity

In other Morningstar news, CFO Jason Dubinsky sold 3,223 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $352.88, for a total value of $1,137,332.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,106,235.52. This trade represents a 15.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.86, for a total transaction of $2,962,005.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 10,109,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,304,429,412.62. The trade was a 0.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 44,641 shares of company stock valued at $14,620,537. 39.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morningstar

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Morningstar by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,626 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,895,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 285 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of 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. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,798 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $605,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 49.5% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.