Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Reaches New 1-Year High at $316.06

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $316.06 and last traded at $314.71, with a volume of 59318 shares. The stock had previously closed at $309.78.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Morningstar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. TheStreet raised Morningstar from a "c" rating to a "b" rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd.

Morningstar Stock Up 1.4 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $13.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 95.60 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $294.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $273.89.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $538.70 million for the quarter. Morningstar had a return on equity of 18.54% and a net margin of 6.92%.

Morningstar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. Morningstar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Steven N. Kaplan sold 1,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.81, for a total value of $383,512.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 44,427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,630,647.87. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Morningstar news, Director Steven N. Kaplan sold 1,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.81, for a total transaction of $383,512.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 44,427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,630,647.87. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,470 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.23, for a total transaction of $2,070,908.10. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 10,927,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,029,334,071.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 95,544 shares of company stock worth $27,733,515 in the last quarter. Insiders own 39.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Morningstar

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MORN. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Morningstar by 7,500.0% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 152 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Morningstar in the 3rd quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in Morningstar by 55.2% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 194 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.02% of the company's stock.

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.