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

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 4,080 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $323.46, for a total value of $1,319,716.80. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 10,072,938 shares in the company, valued at $3,258,192,525.48. This trade represents a 0.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Morningstar Trading Up 0.8 %

Morningstar stock opened at $313.72 on Friday. Morningstar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $281.37 and a 12 month high of $365.00. The stock has a market cap 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 price of $327.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $330.03. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.15. Morningstar had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 23.28%. The firm had revenue of $591.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $580.81 million.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This is a positive change from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. Morningstar’s payout ratio is currently 24.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Morningstar in the fourth quarter valued at about $111,694,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Morningstar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $56,584,000. Premier Fund Managers Ltd acquired a new stake in Morningstar during the 4th quarter valued at $50,694,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised 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 valued at $363,903,000 after purchasing an additional 130,087 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted 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 worth $383,489,000 after purchasing an additional 102,206 shares in 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.