Joseph D. Mansueto Sells 8,325 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Stock

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 8,325 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.72, for a total value of $2,386,944.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 10,758,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,084,702,064.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Morningstar Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of MORN stock opened at $294.03 on Friday. Morningstar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $180.48 and a fifty-two week high of $316.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.57 billion, a PE ratio of 59.40 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $302.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $282.54.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter. Morningstar had a net margin of 10.13% and a return on equity of 21.79%. The company had revenue of $542.80 million for the quarter.

Morningstar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.73%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morningstar

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 19.6% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 232 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its position in Morningstar by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 896 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Morningstar by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 324 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT grew its stake in shares of Morningstar by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT now owns 2,541 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $727,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 11,292 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,645,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on MORN shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Morningstar from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd.

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.