Insider Selling: Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Sells 6,464 Shares of Stock

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 6,464 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.21, for a total value of $1,197,197.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 8,223,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,523,104,253.81. This represents a 0.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Morningstar Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of MORN traded down $3.79 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $165.47. 843,255 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 476,942. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $210.44 and its 200-day moving average is $229.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. Morningstar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.62 and a fifty-two week high of $330.55. The company has a market cap of $6.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.82 and a beta of 1.08.

Morningstar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 2nd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is 22.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MORN shares. BMO Capital Markets set a $250.00 price objective on Morningstar in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Morningstar from $350.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $285.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morningstar

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Morningstar by 23.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 178 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,838 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,151,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Morningstar by 278.2% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 208 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Morningstar by 12.6% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,181 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $371,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS boosted its holdings in Morningstar by 1.8% in the second quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 5,800 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,821,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Company Profile

Morningstar, Inc is a leading provider of independent investment research, data, and analytics, serving both individual investors and financial professionals. The company offers comprehensive coverage of financial products, including mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), stocks, bonds and market indexes. Morningstar’s proprietary rating systems and research methodologies help clients assess the risk and return profiles of investment opportunities and make informed decisions.

Its core products include Morningstar Direct, an institutional investment analysis platform; Morningstar Office Cloud, a portfolio management solution for advisors; and Morningstar Data, which delivers extensive datasets through APIs and data feeds.