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

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, December 10th,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be given 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 dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. This is an increase 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 annually for the last 15 consecutive years. Morningstar has a payout ratio of 17.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings.

Morningstar Price Performance

Shares of Morningstar stock traded up $1.50 on Tuesday, hitting $357.57. 136,276 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 120,114. Morningstar has a 52 week low of $269.51 and a 52 week high of $362.01. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $340.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $317.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.24 and a beta of 1.19.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.01). Morningstar had a return on equity of 23.28% and a net margin of 14.69%. The firm had revenue of $569.40 million for the quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.22, for a total value of $3,219,003.64. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 10,738,224 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,814,431,929.28. This represents a 0.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were 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 approximately $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. Insiders have sold a total of 49,188 shares of company stock worth $16,823,772 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 37.70% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Redburn Atlantic lowered Morningstar from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $340.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and set a $352.00 price target on shares of Morningstar in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. StockNews.com cut shares of Morningstar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $390.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $360.67.

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.