Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Given New $370.00 Price Target at BMO Capital Markets

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) had its price objective reduced by BMO Capital Markets from $387.00 to $370.00 in a research report report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th.

Morningstar Stock Down 2.1 %

NASDAQ MORN opened at $307.00 on Monday. Morningstar has a 1-year low of $281.37 and a 1-year high of $365.00. The company has a market capitalization of $13.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.55 and a beta of 1.20. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $326.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $330.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.15. Morningstar had a return on equity of 23.28% and a net margin of 14.69%. The company had revenue of $591.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $580.81 million.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.455 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 yield of 0.59%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is 21.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 1,716 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.89, for a total transaction of $562,659.24. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 10,151,120 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,328,450,736.80. This represents a 0.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jason Dubinsky sold 3,223 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $352.88, for a total value of $1,137,332.24. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,106,235.52. This represents a 15.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 44,641 shares of company stock worth $14,620,537 in the last three months. Insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MORN. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar in the 4th quarter valued at $111,694,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar in the 4th quarter valued at $56,584,000. Premier Fund Managers Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar in the 4th quarter valued at $50,694,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,080,599 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $363,903,000 after purchasing an additional 130,087 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,201,708 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $383,489,000 after purchasing an additional 102,206 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

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.