Morningstar, Inc. (MORN) To Go Ex-Dividend on October 2nd

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share by the business services provider on Friday, October 30th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 2nd.

Morningstar has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.0%annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 16 years. Morningstar has a dividend payout ratio of 19.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings.

Morningstar Stock Down 2.7%

MORN stock opened at $186.35 on Wednesday. Morningstar has a one year low of $141.49 and a one year high of $234.90. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $201.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $182.72. The firm has a market cap of $6.99 billion, a PE ratio of 17.65 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $3.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $663.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $649.72 million. Morningstar had a return on equity of 38.57% and a net margin of 16.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 5,659 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.84, for a total transaction of $1,238,415.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 7,938,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,737,193,937.28. This trade represents a 0.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 86,500 shares of company stock valued at $17,824,451. 38.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morningstar

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MORN. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 45.2% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 315 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in Morningstar by 151.7% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 219 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Morningstar by 8.0% in the first quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,840 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $311,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Morningstar by 15.6% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,007 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $170,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Morningstar during the first quarter worth $26,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

About Morningstar

Morningstar, Inc is a global provider of independent investment research, data, and analytical services. The company serves individual investors, financial advisors, asset managers, institutions, and retirement plan providers through information and tools designed to support investment research, portfolio construction, wealth management, and financial planning.

Its offerings include ratings and research on mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, stocks, bonds, and other investments; portfolio management and investment research platforms such as Morningstar Direct and Morningstar Advisor Workstation; and data, analytics, and software for asset managers and financial institutions.