Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto Sells 9,062 Shares

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.10, for a total transaction of $2,728,568.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 10,047,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,025,251,665.20. This trade represents a 0.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Morningstar Stock Performance

Shares of MORN opened at $296.54 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $324.47 and its 200-day moving average is $329.71. Morningstar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $281.37 and a 12 month high of $365.00. The firm has a market cap of $12.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.17 and a beta of 1.20. 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 posted its 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd will be paid a $0.455 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. This is a positive change from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on MORN. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday.

Institutional Trading of Morningstar

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MORN. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Morningstar in the 4th quarter worth $111,694,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Morningstar in the 4th quarter worth $56,584,000. Premier Fund Managers Ltd acquired a new stake in Morningstar in the 4th quarter worth $50,694,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew 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. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Morningstar by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,201,708 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $383,489,000 after purchasing an additional 102,206 shares during the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.