Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Receives “Outperform” Rating from BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $352.00 target price on the business services provider’s stock.

Morningstar Stock Up 0.7 %

MORN stock opened at $313.77 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $307.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $300.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.05. Morningstar has a fifty-two week low of $219.45 and a fifty-two week high of $330.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.39 and a beta of 1.17.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last announced its quarterly 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 12th were paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 12th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.22, for a total value of $2,620,911.64. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,648,928 shares in the company, valued at $3,079,882,956.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.22, for a total value of $2,620,911.64. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,648,928 shares in the company, valued at $3,079,882,956.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.07, for a total transaction of $216,802.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,590 shares in the company, valued at $4,795,671.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 57,749 shares of company stock worth $17,595,365 over the last three months. Insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morningstar

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Scout Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Morningstar by 75.8% during the first quarter. Scout Investments Inc. now owns 42,549 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,034,000 after acquiring an additional 18,345 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Morningstar by 506.2% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,202 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,071,000 after acquiring an additional 11,024 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc grew its position in shares of Morningstar by 2.0% during the second quarter. M&G Plc now owns 173,105 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $51,239,000 after acquiring an additional 3,322 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Morningstar by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 533,935 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $152,834,000 after acquiring an additional 5,240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morningstar during the first quarter worth approximately $20,986,000. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.