Insider Selling: Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Sells $2,219,370.00 in Stock

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.12, for a total transaction of $2,219,370.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 9,457,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,895,047,553.72. This trade represents a 0.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Morningstar Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ MORN opened at $309.46 on Monday. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $250.34 and a 1 year high of $365.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $288.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $317.10. The firm has a market cap of $13.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.88 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $589.07 million.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

MORN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Morningstar from $339.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morningstar

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MORN. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 178.6% in 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 acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 5,066.7% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 155 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

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.