Joseph Mansueto Sells 3,214 Shares of Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Stock

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 3,214 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.84, for a total value of $523,367.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 8,212,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,337,314,055.28. The trade was a 0.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Morningstar Price Performance

MORN opened at $154.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.52 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $205.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $225.89. Morningstar, Inc. has a 52-week low of $149.08 and a 52-week high of $330.55.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $641.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $634.43 million. Morningstar had a net margin of 15.70% and a return on equity of 25.07%.

Morningstar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 2nd will be paid 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 1.3%. Morningstar’s payout ratio is currently 22.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morningstar

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in Morningstar by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,838 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,151,000 after buying an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Morningstar by 278.2% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 208 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in shares of Morningstar by 0.7% in the second quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,972 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,503,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Morningstar by 270.3% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 137 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Morningstar

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.