Joseph D. Mansueto Sells 7,250 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Stock

Key Points

• Joseph D. Mansueto, Chairman of Morningstar, Inc., sold 7,250 shares at an average price of $256.50, totaling $1,859,625, and now owns approximately $2.4 billion worth of shares.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.455 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 0.7%.
• Morningstar's most recent quarterly earnings showed $2.40 earnings per share, surpassing analysts' expectations of $2.21.

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.50, for a total value of $1,859,625.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 9,373,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,404,219,387.50. The trade was a 0.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Morningstar Trading Down 0.8%

Morningstar stock traded down $1.97 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $259.08. 206,125 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 350,093. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $290.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $297.21. Morningstar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $250.34 and a twelve month high of $365.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.93 billion, a PE ratio of 27.59 and a beta of 0.96.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 11th were issued a dividend of $0.455 per share. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 11th. Morningstar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Institutional Trading of Morningstar

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Morningstar during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Morningstar during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 270.3% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 137 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 5,066.7% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 155 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 37.8% during the 1st quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 153 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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