Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Thursday morning.

Separately, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd.

Morningstar Stock Performance

MORN traded down $10.91 during trading on Thursday, hitting $257.85. The stock had a trading volume of 308,233 shares, compared to its average volume of 129,456. Morningstar has a twelve month low of $253.35 and a twelve month high of $365.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.06 and a beta of 1.16. 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 company's 50-day moving average price is $308.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $326.79.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.15. Morningstar had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 23.28%. The firm had revenue of $591.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $580.81 million.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.455 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is a boost from Morningstar's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. Morningstar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.24%.

Insider Transactions at Morningstar

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 3,635 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.44, for a total transaction of $1,182,974.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 10,142,694 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,300,838,335.36. The trade was a 0.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 59,544 shares of company stock valued at $18,770,097 in the last quarter. 39.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morningstar

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MORN. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $111,694,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Morningstar during the 4th quarter valued at $56,584,000. Premier Fund Managers Ltd purchased a new position in Morningstar during the fourth quarter worth $50,694,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Morningstar by 30,785.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 144,237 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $43,252,000 after buying an additional 143,770 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,080,599 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $363,903,000 after acquiring an additional 130,087 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.