Joseph D. Mansueto Sells 4,080 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Stock

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 4,080 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.46, for a total value of $1,319,716.80. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,072,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,258,192,525.48. The trade was a 0.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Morningstar Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ MORN traded up $2.56 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $313.72. 244,218 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 123,911. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $281.37 and a 1 year high of $365.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.44 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a 50 day moving average of $328.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $329.97.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $580.81 million.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be issued a $0.455 dividend. This is an increase from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,803,611 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $944,144,000 after acquiring an additional 51,598 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Morningstar by 9.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,201,708 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $383,489,000 after purchasing an additional 102,206 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Morningstar by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,080,599 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $363,903,000 after purchasing an additional 130,087 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Morningstar by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 804,293 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $256,666,000 after purchasing an additional 28,698 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 696,023 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $222,115,000 after buying an additional 85,098 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.