Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) to Issue $0.46 Quarterly Dividend

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, June 20th, NASDAQ Dividends reports. Investors of record on Friday, July 11th will be paid a dividend of 0.455 per share by the business services provider on Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 11th.

Morningstar has a payout ratio of 17.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings.

Morningstar Stock Performance

Morningstar stock traded down $5.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $293.88. 186,582 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 162,259. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $305.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $306.08. Morningstar has a one year low of $250.34 and a one year high of $365.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.42 billion, a PE ratio of 33.02 and a beta of 1.01.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $581.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $589.07 million. Morningstar had a return on equity of 23.23% and a net margin of 16.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on MORN. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Morningstar from $339.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered Morningstar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th.

Insider Activity

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 1,246 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.52, for a total transaction of $381,923.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 9,427,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,889,820,290.72. The trade was a 0.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Caroline J. Tsay sold 200 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.84, for a total value of $61,968.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,345 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,346,254.80. This trade represents a 4.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 53,569 shares of company stock valued at $16,333,474. Corporate insiders own 36.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morningstar

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 23.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 178 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 278.2% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 208 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,838 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,151,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.