Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Sells $381,923.92 in Stock

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 1,246 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.52, for a total transaction of $381,923.92. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 9,427,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,889,820,290.72. This represents a 0.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Morningstar Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of MORN traded up $4.90 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $309.02. The company had a trading volume of 169,487 shares, compared to its average volume of 142,671. Morningstar, Inc. has a one year low of $250.34 and a one year high of $365.00. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $290.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $315.77. The company has a market capitalization of $13.06 billion, a PE ratio of 40.82 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.13. Morningstar had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 23.28%. The firm had revenue of $581.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $589.07 million.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th were paid a dividend of $0.455 per share. This is a positive change from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Morningstar’s payout ratio is presently 20.45%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morningstar

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MORN. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Morningstar by 178.6% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 78 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Morningstar in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Morningstar in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Morningstar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morningstar by 49.5% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on MORN. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Morningstar from $339.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th.

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.