Insider Selling: Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Sells $2,751,980.77 in Stock

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 8,393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.89, for a total value of $2,751,980.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 10,096,098 shares in the company, valued at $3,310,409,573.22. This represents a 0.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Morningstar Price Performance

MORN stock opened at $319.96 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $328.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $330.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Morningstar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $281.37 and a 12-month high of $365.00. The company has a market capitalization of $13.72 billion, a PE ratio of 42.27 and a beta of 1.20.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.15. Morningstar had a return on equity of 23.28% and a net margin of 14.69%.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.455 per share. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. This is a boost from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 17th.

Institutional Trading of Morningstar

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morningstar by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,626 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,895,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Morningstar by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 285 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Morningstar by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,259 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $402,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of Morningstar by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,798 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $605,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Morningstar by 49.5% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.