Insider Selling: Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Sells $2,927,297.86 in Stock

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.03, for a total transaction of $2,927,297.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,085,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,257,959,766.78. The trade was a 0.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Morningstar Stock Up 0.8 %

MORN opened at $313.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.44 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a 50-day moving average of $327.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $330.03. Morningstar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $281.37 and a 12 month high of $365.00.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $591.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $580.81 million. Morningstar had a return on equity of 23.28% and a net margin of 14.69%.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be issued a $0.455 dividend. This is a boost from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. Morningstar’s payout ratio is 24.04%.

Institutional Trading of Morningstar

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 178.6% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 78 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 101.7% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday.

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.