Joseph Mansueto Sells 7,250 Shares of Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Stock

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 7,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.08, for a total value of $1,871,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 9,347,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,412,397,896.48. This trade represents a 0.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Morningstar Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ MORN opened at $262.29 on Thursday. Morningstar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $250.34 and a twelve month high of $365.00. The firm has a market cap of $11.06 billion, a PE ratio of 27.93 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $287.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $295.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $605.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $605.84 million. Morningstar had a return on equity of 23.54% and a net margin of 17.22%.

Morningstar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 11th were issued a $0.455 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 11th. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Morningstar’s payout ratio is currently 19.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MORN has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Morningstar from $339.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $361.67.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Morningstar during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Morningstar in the second quarter worth $29,000. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Morningstar by 270.3% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 137 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 37.8% during the 1st quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 153 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 5,066.7% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 155 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. 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.