Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Increases Dividend to $0.46 Per Share

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, December 9th,Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd will be paid a dividend of 0.455 per share by the business services provider on Friday, October 31st. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. This is a boost from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41.

Morningstar has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 0.3% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 15 years. Morningstar has a payout ratio of 17.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings.

Morningstar Price Performance

NASDAQ MORN opened at $356.07 on Tuesday. Morningstar has a 1 year low of $269.51 and a 1 year high of $361.73. The business’s fifty day moving average is $340.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $317.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.04 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $352.00 price objective on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. StockNews.com lowered Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $360.67.

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $328.22, for a total value of $2,974,329.64. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,845,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,559,781,561.96. This represents a 0.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.88, for a total value of $248,910.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,261,339.20. This trade represents a 5.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 49,188 shares of company stock valued at $16,823,772. Corporate insiders own 37.70% 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.