Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Now Covered by UBS Group

UBS Group began coverage on shares of Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) in a research note released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $390.00 target price on the business services provider’s stock.

Separately, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $352.00 target price on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morningstar currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $360.67.

Morningstar Price Performance

Shares of Morningstar stock opened at $340.08 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $313.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $304.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.54 billion, a PE ratio of 68.70 and a beta of 1.19. Morningstar has a 12 month low of $219.45 and a 12 month high of $340.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $571.90 million for the quarter. Morningstar had a net margin of 11.34% and a return on equity of 22.34%.

Morningstar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is 32.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.64, for a total transaction of $2,742,523.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 10,631,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,217,579,503.84. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.64, for a total value of $2,742,523.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 10,631,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,217,579,503.84. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CRO Daniel Joseph Dunn sold 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.89, for a total value of $513,424.00. Following the transaction, the executive now directly owns 12,967 shares in the company, valued at $4,160,980.63. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 59,541 shares of company stock valued at $18,399,192 over the last three months. 39.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Scout Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 75.8% during the 1st quarter. Scout Investments Inc. now owns 42,549 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,034,000 after purchasing an additional 18,345 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 506.2% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,202 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,071,000 after acquiring an additional 11,024 shares during the period. M&G Plc grew its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. M&G Plc now owns 173,105 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $51,239,000 after acquiring an additional 3,322 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Morningstar in the 1st quarter worth approximately $20,986,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,576,670 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $737,546,000 after purchasing an additional 23,812 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.