Insider Selling: Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Sells $3,157,653.90 in Stock

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $348.45, for a total transaction of $3,157,653.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,808,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,766,250,746.35. The trade was a 0.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Morningstar Price Performance

NASDAQ:MORN opened at $342.99 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $14.71 billion, a PE ratio of 45.31 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $328.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $310.72. Morningstar, Inc. has a one year low of $264.79 and a one year high of $352.55.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $569.40 million during the quarter. Morningstar had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 23.28%.

Morningstar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.40%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morningstar

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Scout Investments Inc. raised its holdings in Morningstar by 75.8% in the 1st quarter. Scout Investments Inc. now owns 42,549 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,034,000 after acquiring an additional 18,345 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Morningstar by 506.2% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,202 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,071,000 after buying an additional 11,024 shares during the period. M&G Plc boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 2.0% during the second quarter. M&G Plc now owns 173,105 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $51,239,000 after buying an additional 3,322 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new position in Morningstar in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,207,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Morningstar by 104.2% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 6,114 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,885,000 after purchasing an additional 3,120 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MORN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price target for the company. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $352.00 price objective on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morningstar presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $360.67.

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.