Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Joseph Mansueto Sells 7,250 Shares

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 7,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.47, for a total transaction of $1,156,157.50. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 8,163,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,301,770,194.88. The trade was a 0.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Morningstar Stock Performance

Shares of MORN traded up $6.36 on Thursday, reaching $178.77. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 72,820 shares, compared to its average volume of 586,413. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.19 and a beta of 1.08. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $196.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $218.66. Morningstar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $149.08 and a 12-month high of $322.48.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.37. Morningstar had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 27.94%. The business had revenue of $641.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $634.43 million.

Morningstar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 2nd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 2nd. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is 22.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Morningstar from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Morningstar from $257.00 to $193.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. UBS Group set a $280.00 price objective on Morningstar in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Morningstar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $236.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morningstar

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in Morningstar in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Morningstar in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Morningstar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 120.5% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 172 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.