Insider Selling: Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Sells 9,062 Shares of Stock

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $348.45, for a total transaction of $3,157,653.90. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 10,808,583 shares in the company, valued at $3,766,250,746.35. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Morningstar Stock Performance

Morningstar stock traded up $1.98 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $350.55. The stock had a trading volume of 73,570 shares, compared to its average volume of 115,198. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $326.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $310.02. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $263.79 and a 1 year high of $352.00. The stock has a market cap of $15.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.05 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.01). Morningstar had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 23.28%. The business had revenue of $569.40 million during the quarter.

Morningstar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MORN. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $352.00 price objective on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. UBS Group started coverage on Morningstar in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morningstar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $360.67.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morningstar

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Scout Investments Inc. increased its stake in Morningstar by 75.8% during the first quarter. Scout Investments Inc. now owns 42,549 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,034,000 after acquiring an additional 18,345 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 506.2% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,202 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,071,000 after acquiring an additional 11,024 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc lifted its holdings in Morningstar by 2.0% in the second 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 last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar during the first quarter valued at $1,207,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 104.2% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 6,114 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,885,000 after buying an additional 3,120 shares during the period. 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.