Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.46

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, June 20th, NASDAQ Dividends reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 11th will be given 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 dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 11th.

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

Morningstar Price Performance

Shares of MORN traded down $5.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $293.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 186,582 shares, compared to its average volume of 161,961. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $305.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $306.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.02 and a beta of 1.01. Morningstar has a 1-year low of $250.34 and a 1-year high of $365.00.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MORN. Wall Street Zen cut Morningstar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Morningstar from $339.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morningstar

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in Morningstar by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,838 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,151,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 278.2% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 208 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 23.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 178 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.