Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Price Target Raised to $355.00 at BMO Capital Markets

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) had its price objective hoisted by BMO Capital Markets from $339.00 to $355.00 in a research report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd.

Morningstar Price Performance

MORN stock opened at $309.36 on Monday. Morningstar has a 52-week low of $250.34 and a 52-week high of $365.00. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $286.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $317.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.87 and a beta of 0.99.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.13. Morningstar had a return on equity of 23.28% and a net margin of 14.69%. The business had revenue of $581.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $589.07 million.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th were given a $0.455 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 4th. This is a positive change from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.86, for a total value of $2,962,005.32. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,109,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,304,429,412.62. This trade represents a 0.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 64,503 shares of company stock valued at $19,953,122 over the last three months. 36.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Morningstar

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MORN. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the fourth quarter worth about $111,694,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the fourth quarter worth about $56,584,000. Premier Fund Managers Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the fourth quarter worth about $50,694,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 143,770 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Morningstar by 13.7% during 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. 57.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.