Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Hits New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $275.53 and last traded at $275.76, with a volume of 11978 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $290.42.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd.

Morningstar Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $11.51 billion, a PE ratio of 35.50 and a beta of 1.16. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $309.72 and its 200 day moving average is $327.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.15. Morningstar had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 23.28%. The business 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 paid a $0.455 dividend. This is an increase from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.24%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 1,716 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.89, for a total transaction of $562,659.24. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,151,120 shares in the company, valued at $3,328,450,736.80. The trade was a 0.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 59,544 shares of company stock valued at $18,770,097. Company insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morningstar

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MORN. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $111,694,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Morningstar in the fourth quarter worth $56,584,000. Premier Fund Managers Ltd purchased a new position in Morningstar in the fourth quarter worth $50,694,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $363,903,000 after acquiring an additional 130,087 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the 4th quarter worth $33,829,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

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.