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 the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.22, for a total value of $3,219,003.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 10,738,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,814,431,929.28. This trade represents a 0.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Morningstar Price Performance

Shares of MORN opened at $355.65 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $335.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $314.53. The stock has a market cap of $15.25 billion, a PE ratio of 46.98 and a beta of 1.18. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $269.51 and a 1-year high of $359.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last posted its 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 company 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. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. Morningstar’s payout ratio is 21.40%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morningstar

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. M&G Plc grew its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 2.0% in the second quarter. M&G Plc now owns 173,105 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $51,239,000 after purchasing an additional 3,322 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar in the first quarter worth $1,207,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Morningstar by 12.7% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,843 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,056,000 after acquiring an additional 1,789 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morningstar by 295.4% in the second quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,637 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $780,000 after acquiring an additional 1,970 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its holdings in Morningstar by 259.3% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 13,769 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,394,000 after purchasing an additional 9,937 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MORN shares. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Morningstar in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $352.00 price objective on shares of Morningstar in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morningstar presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $360.67.

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.