Insider Selling: Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Sells 6,764 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Joseph D. Mansueto, Chairman of Morningstar, Inc., sold 6,764 shares of the company's stock for approximately $1.76 million, resulting in a 0.07% decrease in his holdings.
• Morningstar reported earnings of $2.40 per share, surpassing estimates, but its revenue fell short of projections at $605.10 million.
• Several institutional investors have recently increased their stakes in Morningstar, with Millennium Management raising their position by 88% in the first quarter.

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 6,764 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.28, for a total value of $1,760,533.92. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 9,380,425 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,441,537,019. This trade represents a 0.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Morningstar Price Performance

MORN traded down $3.61 during trading on Monday, hitting $255.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 361,686 shares, compared to its average volume of 219,795. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $293.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $298.25. 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 12 month low of $250.34 and a 12 month high of $365.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.19 and a beta of 0.96.

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

Morningstar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 11th were paid a $0.455 dividend. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 11th. Morningstar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.38%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morningstar

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MORN. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morningstar by 88.0% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 540,795 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $162,168,000 after buying an additional 253,137 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the 4th quarter valued at $56,584,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Morningstar by 30,785.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 144,237 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $43,252,000 after buying an additional 143,770 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the 1st quarter valued at $38,269,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the second quarter worth $33,098,000. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on MORN shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Morningstar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Morningstar from $339.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research 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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