Insider Selling: Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Sells 6,624 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Joseph D. Mansueto, Chairman of Morningstar, Inc., sold 6,624 shares at an average price of $272.77 on August 4th, reducing his ownership by 0.07%.
• Morningstar reported $2.40 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, while revenue was slightly below projections at $605.10 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.455 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 0.7%, with a payout ratio of 19.38%.

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 6,624 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.77, for a total transaction of $1,806,828.48. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 9,406,212 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,565,732,447.24. The trade was a 0.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Morningstar Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MORN traded down $2.08 on Wednesday, reaching $259.99. 361,081 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 354,511. The business's 50-day moving average is $297.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $300.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Morningstar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $250.34 and a fifty-two week high of $365.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.69 and a beta of 0.96.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $605.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $605.84 million. Morningstar had a net margin of 17.22% and a return on equity of 23.54%.

Morningstar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 11th were issued a $0.455 dividend. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 11th. Morningstar's dividend payout ratio is 19.38%.

Institutional Trading of Morningstar

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Morningstar by 9.7% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,802 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $540,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Morningstar by 12.9% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 106,294 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $31,874,000 after buying an additional 12,159 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Morningstar by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 305,014 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $102,719,000 after buying an additional 13,155 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Morningstar by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 2,077 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $699,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC increased its stake in Morningstar by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,249 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $375,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Morningstar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Morningstar from $339.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th.

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.

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