Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto Sells 7,222 Shares

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,222 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $349.67, for a total value of $2,525,316.74. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 10,801,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,776,911,900.87. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Morningstar Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MORN opened at $350.55 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $326.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $310.02. The stock has a market cap of $15.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.31 and a beta of 1.18. Morningstar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $263.79 and a twelve month high of $352.00.

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

Morningstar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MORN. StockNews.com lowered Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $352.00 target price on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $360.67.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew 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 during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Morningstar by 154.0% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 320,186 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $94,727,000 after buying an additional 194,122 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Morningstar by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 272,075 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $80,492,000 after acquiring an additional 4,722 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Morningstar by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 191,765 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $61,196,000 after acquiring an additional 5,045 shares during the period. Finally, M&G PLC boosted its stake in Morningstar by 5.6% during the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 182,808 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $58,316,000 after acquiring an additional 9,703 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.